Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring Hardcover – March 5, 2024

I rode New York City subways a lot in the 80s so I was no stranger to Keith Haring’s art/graffiti even if I didn’t yet know his name. And when I first saw the “Crack is Wack” handball wall in East Harlem I knew immediately it was from the same artist. But it probably wasn’t till I bought my first “Very Special Christmas” CD that I learned his name.I’m not exactly a connoisseur of fine art so Haring’s pop art speaks to me in its simplicity. Like punk music, there’s a feeling with his drawings and paintings that anyone could do it. And that makes it ever more accessible and understandable.This book was an awesome recap of Haring’s amazing but short life and career. Knowing the fate he’d meet, I felt a sense of oncoming doom throughout. And considering the manic pace that Haring worked at, perhaps he felt it too. Certainly by the mid-eighties, as so many of Haring’s friends were dying of AIDs, he knew there was a chance he’d be next. Indeed in his journals around that time he speaks of a fear of dying and a longing to live a little longer (uncommon thoughts for your typical twenty-something). Such was the mood in New York City at the time, particularly in the gay community where the sense that the party was over was an ever present Damocles sword.Haring became every bit a pop star in his time, hanging with the likes of Madonna and Brooke Shields and Boy George and spending night after night dancing his ass off in the best New York City clubs of the eighties. And his fame brought him around the world, giving him the opportunity to paint murals everywhere, including his favorite project ever: the Berlin Wall. Through his own words from interviews and his journals, and those of his closest confidants and lovers, we learn of Haring’s passion for art and how he believed it could positively change the world (which is why he gave so much of it away for free).This was a great, uplifting book. Until the end, when it became a great, tragic book. Such is the case with so many artists who leave us long before their time. But at least we have his oeuvre to remind us of who he was and how simple yet powerful a paint brush or a magic marker or even just a piece of chalk can be.In her eulogy to her brother, Haring’s sister Kay said Keith had taught her “That a wall was meant to be drawn on, a Saturday night was meant for partying, and that life is meant for celebrating.” I took similar messages and inspiration from this book

This is a good read about the artist and "the scene" of the 1980s in NYC. I was familiar with Haring's work and was inspired to read a book about him after reading 20th Century Boy by Duncan Hannah another artist who was part of the NYC world a decade earlier and touching Haring's time there. Very human story well told. If you like the art or the time period definitely worth the read.

Very interesting bio of an unusal individual artist

I’m not a particular fan of art or artists, but this book led me into the world of a prolifically creative person working in a time and place of huge artistic activity. Brad Gooch’s book is one of the finest biographies I have read, and I’ve read plenty. I also remember the times and places Haring operated in, and Gooch captures them perfectly.Well-written and thorough without being dull, Haring’s life was a whirlwind of creation, originality, sociability, drugs, homosexuality, travel, movement, in a time when AIDS was an undercurrent and finally a plague destroying many of its brightest stars, including Haring. The people he encountered, the ways he produced his art, the events he created and attended, and his rise to be recognized as a key figure in the art movement of his era are all well told.His end was sad and well-recalled, giving us an idea of the impact Haring had on the art world and the people he interacted with, as well as those he never met. If you want to take a literary trip to Haring’s place in history, this is the book for you.

Brad Gooch has always created books that encourage binge reading, and RADIANT is no exception! His brilliant review of Keith Haring’s life and protest art is timely - causing the reader to consider the similarities between Haring’s era and the days in which we now live. enJOYour copy - you won’t be able to put it down!

brought this book for my daughter and as always with books in our family, I'm reading it first and then giving it to her; we saw the Heith Haring exhibit last summer and we're big fans.

Just what I needed at work.

Beautifully done and a wonderful read.A welcome addition to my library