Google is celebrating the 54th birthday of artist and AIDS activist Keith Haring with a homepage doodle in his honor.
The doodle features the Google logo spelled out in signature Haring figures. "An homage to the grandmaster of doodling, Keith Haring," Google tweeted today.
Haring is known for his colorful drawings, which have graced the walls of top art galleries as well as subway stations and New York City buildings. He moved to the Big Apple in 1978 after leaving art school in Pittsburgh and soon become involved in the alternative art community embraced by fellow artists like Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat, according to the Keith Haring Foundation.
Haring had dabbled in various art forms over the years - performance, video, installation, collage - but it was drawing that truly captured his imagination and the eye of the New York art world.
As noted the Foundation, he started drawing on the unused ad panels in New York City subway stations in 1980, sometimes creating up to 40 "subway drawings" in a day.
"This seamless flow of images became familiar to New York commuters, who often would stop to engage the artist when they encountered him at work," the Foundation said. "The subway became, as Haring said, a 'laboratory' for working out his ideas and experimenting with his simple lines."
A solo exhibition followed in 1981, and his Soho gallery debut occured a year later. By April 1986, Haring opened a retail store in Soho, dubbed the Pop Shop, that sold t-shirts, toys, posters, buttons, and other items bearing his artwork.
"The shop received criticism from many in the art world, however Haring remained committed to his desire to make his artwork available to as wide an audience as possible," the Foundation said.
The PopShop closed its doors in September 2005, but items are still available for purchase via pop-shop.com.
Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, and established the Foundation a year later, which is intended to "provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children's programs, and to expand the audience for Haring's work through exhibitions, publications and the licensing of his images."
He passed away in 1990 at the age of 31.
"Haring's bold lines and active figures carry poignant messages of vitality and unity," the Foundation said. "His legacy made an impact on late 20th century art and grants us all a vision for the future."
His 1982 drawing Untitled is currently on display at New York's Museum of Modern Art, while the Brooklyn Museum of Art is also showing some of his work until July 8. More details about current and upcoming exhibitions are available via the Foundation website.
For more on Google's doodles, meanwhile, see the slideshow above. Recently, the company honored origami legend Akira Yoshizawa and German Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. One of the company's more popular doodles last year was a playable image in honor of musician Les Paul, which eventually got its own standalone site. The company has also honored Gumby creator Art Clokey, Muppets creator Jim Henson, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, and Intel co-founder Robert Noyce.
In 2011, it was revealed that Google obtained a patent for its popular homepage doodles, covering "systems and methods for enticing users to access a Web site." Not everyone is charmed. PCMag's Jamie Lendino recently implored: Enough With the Google Doodles.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.
