Created in the final years of Keith Haring’s short life, Untitled (1988) is a seminal example of the artist’s celebration of music and movement despite the challenges of the decade....
Created in the final years of Keith Haring’s short life, Untitled (1988) is a seminal example of the artist’s celebration of music and movement despite the challenges of the decade. Across the monumental tarp, Haring depicts a version of the “spider move,” one of the many trendy dance moves of the 1980s in which two dancers intertwine their bodies, fusing into one. Executed in a pared-down palette within a perfect square, the iconicity of Untitled reinforces the energy within the scene. The bold primary colors that border the grid-like formation created by the figures’ extremities are at once lyrical and balanced. For Haring, the dance move becomes a broader symbol of life and coexistence.