Keith Haring: Into 2025| EXHIBITION | NAKAMURA KEITH HARING COLLECTION

Keith Haring: Into 2025

Jun 01, 2024 (Sat) － May 18, 2025 (Sun)

Venue: Nakamura Keith Haring Collection
Organized by Nakamura Keith Haring Collection
Supported by U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education, Hokuto City, Hokuto City Board of Education

メディアの方へ

Keith Haring (1958-1990), a leading artist of American art in the 1980s, was renowned for his bright and upbeat style. Yet, beneath the surface of his engaging work lies a profound insight into societal dynamics. This exhibition aims to showcase Haring’s ability to depict society in ways that are sometimes humorous, at other times scathingly critical, prompting the audience to reflect on the direction of our collective future. Through his art, Haring continuously sent messages advocating for peace and freedom, demonstrating his commitment to engaging with and influencing the social discourse of his time.
Haring’s childhood in the 1960s coincided with the “Space Age,” a period marked by the technological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. This era saw advancements in space exploration and information technology, laying the foundation for modern-day tech. The era’s bright, primary colors, showcased on newly popularized color TVs, and the televised Vietnam War profoundly influenced Haring. His interest in global events grew as he absorbed information from television and magazines, which later manifested in the frequent theme of violence in his art.
In the 1980s, when Haring’s career took off, the world was amidst a significant nuclear arms race, especially in the United States. In June 1982, in response to the escalating arms race, the largest anti-nuclear demonstration in U.S. history took place. For this event, Haring created the “Poster for Nuclear Disarmament,” distributing 20,000 copies in Central Park to advocate for disarmament. Throughout his life, Haring continued exploring various mediums and methods to deliver his messages, focusing on themes of peace and freedom.
In 1988, Haring was involved with the ‘HIROSHIMA ’88′ charity concert for the construction of an atomic bomb victims’ home. His visit to Hiroshima, the first city to suffer an atomic bombing, deeply moved him. Visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, he wrote in his journal: “Who could ever want this to happen again? To anyone?” This quote underlines the exhibition’s theme. Today, as we continue to witness ongoing wars and confront the presence of over 12,000 nuclear warheads around the world, we approach the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This backdrop serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of atomic bombs and underscores the ongoing struggle for peace, highlighting the pressing need to reflect on the contemporary meanings of “peace” and “freedom.”

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Anti-War and Anti-Nuclear Works

During the intensifying Cold War of the 1980s, the world saw an unprecedented stockpile of nuclear weapons. Haring used art as a medium to convey anti-war and anti-nuclear messages in diverse ways. The exhibition includes:
• Poster for Nuclear Disarmament (1982): Produced for the largest anti-nuclear demonstration in U.S. history and distributed for free in Central Park.
• Documentary photographs of the mural Haring painted on the Berlin Wall in 1986, commissioned by the Checkpoint Charlie Museum.
• The print series Apocalypse (1988): Created in collaboration with writer William S. Burroughs, pairing Haring’s depictions of a chaotic world with ten poems.
These works reveal the fears of a young artist under the threat of nuclear annihilation and his resilience in the face of despair, issuing warnings for the future.

2. Messages of Peace and Freedom

Haring’s lifelong pursuit of “peace” and “freedom” reflected the history of the United States and the global tensions of the 1980s. The exhibition presents:
• Peace I-IV, My Town, and Sound Tree: Created in 1987 with 500 children for the opening of the Parthenon Tama in Tokyo.
• CityKids Speak on Liberty: A 30-meter artwork co-created with 1,000 children to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. This piece is showcased in approximately 1/5th scale alongside related documents.
These works, created with children, encourage reflection on the enduring significance of their messages nearly 40 years after their creation.

3. Keith Haring and Hiroshima

In 1988, Haring visited Hiroshima after designing the main visual for HIROSHIMA ’88, a charity concert supporting the construction of a nursing home for atomic bomb survivors. During his visit, he witnessed the devastation of war at the Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum. Although he proposed a mural to express his hope for peace, the project never materialized. This exhibition delves into Haring’s journey to Hiroshima, shedding light on his unfulfilled plans and his enduring legacy.

INSTALLATION VIEW

Photo by ©︎Midori Kondoh

FEATURED ARTWORKS

Untitled, 1982

Poster for Nuclear Disarmament, 1982

Joseph Szkodzinski, Keith Haring handing out Nuclear Disarmament Posters after a No Nukes Rally, 1982, Photo by ©Joseph Szkodzinski 2023

Untitled, 1984, Courtesy of the Keith Haring Foundation

Apocalypse, 1988

CityKids Speak on Liberty, 1986 (Reproduction in 2024)

My Town, 1987, Tama City Cultural Foundation

Best Buddies, 1990

Untitled, 1988 (Reprinted in 2024), Courtesy of the Keith Haring Foundation

Poster for “HIROSHIMA ’88,” 1988

SPECIAL EXHIBITION

Isao Hashimoto, 1945-1998

Artist Statement

“2053” – This is the number of nuclear explosions conducted in various parts of the globe.*
The first nuclear test was conducted in July 1945 in the desert of New Mexico, USA. Soon after that, the atomic bombs were consecutively dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and ever since then the tests have been repeated to a total of 2053 times until the year 1998.
Until the early 1960’s, most tests were carried out in the atmosphere causing massive radioactive contamination. In 1963, the United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed the “Partial Test Ban Treaty” to resort to underground testing, but France and China continued to conduct tests on the ground.
Then, as the anti-nuclear movements gained more strength, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was finally put into effect. It is an agreement to reduce the possibility of a nuclear war by denying the increase of the countries that possess nuclear weapons. Following this, in 1996 the “Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty” was adopted, and by 1998 all nuclear tests accompanying nuclear explosions were banned. However, ignoring the criticism from the international community, the United States and Russia still continue to conduct sub-critical nuclear experiments that do not cause nuclear explosions.
This piece of work is a bird’s eye view of history by scaling down a month-length of time into one second. No letter is used for equal messaging to all viewers without a language barrier. The blinking light, sound, and the numbers on the world map show when, where, and how many experiments each country has conducted. I created this work for the means of an interface to the people who are yet to know of the extremely grave, but present problem of the world.

*The number excludes the tests done by North Korea in October 2006, May 2009, February 2013, January 2016, September 2016 and September 2017.

Isao Hashimoto

Born in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan in 1959. After 17 years of working in the financial industry, worked for Lalique Museum Hakone as a chief curator for 15 years. Currently, working for the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, mainly in charge of special exhibitions and survivor testimony videos.
Artwork series expressing the fear and the folly of nuclear weapons: “1945-1998”, “Overkilled”, “The Names of the Experiments”