Hi,
Welcome to the many new readers who are receiving this newsletter for the first time today. If you’re just joining, you might want to read about:
The art of the 14th-century illuminator, Jeanne de Montbaston, who fought against misogyny with her phallic drawings [read here],
The art of Louise Bourgeois whose Fillette portrays the beautiful vulnerability of masculinity [read here],
The art of John Everett Millais whose painting Lorenzo and Isabella brings forth the narrative of tragic love, but also the complexity of the Victorian age and its treatment of sexuality [read here].
If you have a piece of art you’d like to see featured here in the future, please do share it by responding to this email.
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We could dedicate a whole new newsletter only to the penis art of Keith Haring (1958-1990). The legend of street art and culture, famous for the simple, cheery, cartoon-like depictions of people, places, and social issues, left a deep mark on contemporary art; in particular, he gave the street art the ability to communicate sexuality not only as part of a personal identity but as an important factor in the build of a city, a community.
Today, we’ll write about a collection of 70 penis drawings inspired by Manhattan which Keith drew in one day in 1978. The collection, later published as Manhattan Penis Drawings for Ken Hicks, is sort of a guided tour through some of the most popular corners of the New York City.
Keith’s relationship with New York started in the late 70s when he moved to the city to study visual arts. He gained prominence for covering black advertising space in the NY subway with chalk outlines of human figures, animals, aliens.
Often depicting the hardship of city life, his ideas of American identity, war, capitalism, mass media, he gave New York a new language to speak about itself; and New York gave him just as much in return.
New York is where he discovered his sexuality and proudly told the world that he was gay. This was strongly felt in his art. In one interview he said,
the subject matter of many drawings that I was doing […] I started being completely obsessed with doing phallic little shapes, calligraphy became very phallic. Partly, really consciously as a way of asserting my sexuality and forcing people to deal with it; sort of consciously flaunting the fact that I was interested in dicks, because I could.
No wonder his guide through New York is a penis love book.
Photos: Nieves and Innen and www.tipitin.com