Medusa Head 1986

Keith Haring made this stark image of Medusa’s head with ink on paper. Haring’s work emerged from the New York City street culture of the 1980s, where he made his name with graffiti art in the subway. His simple, bold lines and vibrant colors were accessible and instantly recognizable, reflecting his desire to create art for everyone. In this work, Haring appropriates the classical myth of Medusa, whose gaze turned men to stone. Around the central figure, his signature dancing figures twist in pain. Haring’s Medusa is not just a monster, but a symbol of fear and oppression, and the figures around her seem to represent the victims of a modern plague, reflecting the AIDS crisis that ravaged the art world and wider society in the 1980s. Haring’s art serves as a reminder of the power of images to reflect and challenge the social conditions of their time. We can better understand this artwork through archival research into the art market, popular media, and the politics of public health in the 1980s.