As one of the first academic monographs on Keith Haring, this book uses the Pop Shop, a previously overlooked enterprise, and artist merchandising as tools to reconsider the significance and legacy of Haring’s career as a whole.
Haring developed an alternative approach to both the marketing and the social efficacy of art: he controlled the sales and distribution of his merchandise, while also promulgating his belief in accessibility and community activism. He proved that mass-produced objects can be used strategically to form a community and create social change. Furthermore, looking beyond the 1980s, into the 1990s and 2000s, Haring and his shop prefigured artists’ emerging, self-aware involvement with the mass media, and the art world’s growing dependence on marketing and commercialism.
The book will be of interest to scholars or students studying art history, consumer culture, cultural studies, media studies, or market studies, as well as anyone with a curiosity about Haring and his work, the 1980s art scene in New York, the East Village, street art, art activism, and art merchandising.
About the Author
Amy Raffel has a PhD degree in art history from the CUNY Graduate Center and a Master’s degree from the Institute of Fine Arts (NYU). Art and Merchandise in Keith Haring’s Pop Shop is Amy’s first academic book, published as an independent scholar with Routledge. Amy was the Andrew W. Mellon Interpretation Research Fellow at the Queens Museum, developing interpretation initiatives. She has produced audio and visitor guides, art talks, wall text, and interactive spaces.
Hardcover | 260 pages | First Edition
