Art with a Purpose - Keith Haring

After seeing Keith Haring's sculpture at the St. Louis Citygarden, I decided to investigate if there were more works by Haring in the area.  After a quick Google search of Keith Haring Chicago, I found that he had painted several murals in Chicago in 1989.  Two of these murals are located inside Rush University Medical Center.  I happened to be visiting Chicago and made time to locate the work.

Haring painted and donated the murals to the Children's Service of Rush University Medical Center on May 21, 1989.  He was quoted as saying, "I could earn a lot more money by only painting and selling canvases, but I really enjoy creating murals for children."

I think this is such a great message to share with students!  Art can be more than a career, and more than aesthetically pleasing.  Art can also serve a much higher purpose.


To learn more about Keith Haring visit Haring Kids!

Questions for classroom discussion:

Why do you think Haring chose to paint these subjects for the Children's Service?
How do you think his murals made children, patients, and visitors feel?
What do you think Haring is communicating?
Where else have you seen murals?
What purpose did those murals serve?

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Below are more pictures of the murals at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois:

Below is a video of Haring working on another mural in Chicago.  He talks about his artistic process, his love for music and how he views public art as performance art: