Artist of the Month: Keith Haring

Recently my class and I focused on Keith Haring as our Aritst of the Month.

Keith Haring is another graffiti artist, but he uses silhouettes as part of his work. There are lots of activities to explore the work of Keith Haring such as this one on the Haring Kids Site. They suggest creating silhouettes using chalk drawings of the pupils out on the yard. This can be recreated in the classroom with large sheets of paper.

After creating the silhouette image, you can add the movement lines around the shape. Haring using bold lines and colours in his work, this would link to a lesson exploring primary and secondary colours along with complimentary colours through the work of Haring.

Haring’s work can also be explored in other materials and media. You could explore his work through print making and fabric and fibre also. There are lots of suggested activities on the Haring Kids site.

Alternatively you could explore Pop art with the silhouettes. This could link in with the work of Andy Warhol. In my class we created pop art silhouettes and then linked them together to create group images. With the bright contrasting colours it was an attractive display.

Have you looked at the work of Keith Haring with your class? What activities did you use? Share any ideas in the comments.

A.M.

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