Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Keith Haring
Rare original Keith Haring Vinyl Record Art (Keith Haring Crack Is Wack)

1987

About the Item

Rare Keith Haring “Life is Fresh! Crack Is Wack!” 1987 sealed/unopened in its original shrink wrapping: A highly sought-after 1980s record album featuring original artwork by Keith Haring. Among the most difficult to find of Keith Haring record illustrations - even more difficult as presented here sealed in its original packaging. Haring's cover illustration here for his friend at the time, Bipo, is inspired by his famous 1986 Harlem mural by the same title - perhaps the most famous of all public artworks by Haring. Rare as presented here in nice condition (also includes the original album in very good condition). Off-Set Lithograph on vinyl record cover. 1987. 12 x 12 inches (30.48 x 30.48 cm). Cover: Sealed in its original shrink wrap with the record within. Very good to excellent overall vintage condition. Printed Haring signature on lower left. From a scarce edition of unknown. Reverse photo by Haring's close friend, Tseng Kwong Chi (see credits in last image). Well suited for framing. Vinyl record included in very good condition. Keith Haring Crack Is Wack: A brief history: The historic 1986 mural, done in Haring's signature style of thick black outlines, bright colors and intermingling, cartoon-like bodies, was painted to send a serious anti-drug message to the community. In the days following its creation, the mural was quickly picked up by the news media, not because of Haring’s arrest — but because of the newsworthiness of crack cocaine and Reagan’s “War on Drugs”. Haring explained: “Every time the news did a story on crack, they would flash to the [mural as a visual]. NBC [even] did a public service announcement using it as a background.” Close to the court date, the New York Post contacted Haring and asked if they could take a picture of him in front of the mural. In the process, they learned about Haring’s arrest and were shocked. They had no idea he could face jail time. People immediately came to Haring’s defense. The topic even made the evening news, which prompted Mayor Edward Koch — who was both anti-crack and anti-graffiti — to have to consider the issue. Koch commented that “we have to find somewhere else for Haring to paint.” Several years after Haring’s untimely death in 1990, the park was officially named the “Crack Is Wack Playground" and put under the protection and jurisdiction of the City Department of Parks and still exists. Related Categories Keith Haring Graffiti. Street Art. Futura 2000. Kenny Scharf. Keith Haring public art works. Keith Haring murals. Lee Quinones. Crash. Daze. Subway art.
  • Creator:
    Keith Haring (1958-1990, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1987
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    NEW YORK, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU35439699082
More From This SellerView All
  • Robert Rauschenberg Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues (new/sealed)
    By Robert Rauschenberg
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Rare unopened Robert Rauschenberg designed Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues: In 1983, legendary pop artist Robert Rauschenberg designed the album cover for Talking Heads’ acclaimed...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Mixed Media

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset

  • Keith Haring Paris 1987 (Keith Haring Pompidou)
    By Keith Haring
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Keith Haring Paris, 1987: Well-suited for framing, this vibrant oversized illustrated bag was designed by Keith Haring during his lifetime for the P...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Plastic, Offset, Lithograph

  • Basquiat Paris 1998 (vintage Basquiat announcement)
    By after Jean-Michel Basquiat
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Basquiat Paris 1998: Rare vintage original announcement card to the exhibit, Jean-Michel Basquiat Temoignage 1977-1988, Galerie Jerome De Noirmont, Paris, 1998: 6 x 9 inches (folde...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Offset, Lithograph

  • Signed Keith Haring 1983 exhibition poster (Keith Haring New York 1983)
    By Keith Haring
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Signed Keith Haring 1983 exhibition poster: Hand-signed early 1980s Keith Haring exhibition poster published on the occasion of: ‘Art of...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Prints and Multiples

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset

  • Takashi Murakami 'Superflat' exhibition poster (vintage Takashi Murakami)
    By Takashi Murakami
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Takashi Murakami Superflat Exhibition Poster 1999: Rare 1990s exhibit poster designed by Murakami and published by Marianne Boesky Gallery New York...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset

  • Kenny Scharf Tony Shafrazi gallery 1984 (Kenny Scharf 1984)
    By Kenny Scharf
    Located in NEW YORK, NY
    Vintage 1984 Kenny Scharf Exhibition Poster: Original Kenny Scharf illustrated exhibition poster published by Tony Shafrazi Gallery in conjunction with the Fun Gallery, New York, NY 1984. Fun, cool, vibrant original 1980s pop art without breaking the bank. Medium: Offset Lithograph, 1984. Dimensions: 23 x 24.75 inches (folded open). Condition: Fold-lines as issued; good overall vintage condition. Muralist, painter, sculptor, and installation artist Kenny Scharf (American, b. 1958) is best known for his fantastical, large-scale paintings of anthropomorphic animals...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Animal Prints

    Materials

    Offset, Lithograph

You May Also Like
  • British Pop: Mail Order, for Culture Carriers Stamp Out Art (Lt Ed signed stamp)
    By Allen Jones
    Located in New York, NY
    ALLEN JONES Mail Order, for Culture Carriers Stamp Out Art, from The Collection of Art Critic Anthony Haden-Guest, 1971 Lithograph mounted on franked envelope of wove paper (Hand Signed) 6 × 9 inches Edition of 250 (unnumbered) Hand signed in blue ink by Allen Jones with his initials on the lower left of the lithographic stamp, affixed to the envelope. Unframed As a consequence of the prolonged strike by the Royal Mail postal workers in the United Kingdom, Allen Jones, along with a group of top British Pop artists of the era including David Hockney, Eduardo Paolozzi, Derek Boshier, the poet/activist Christopher Logue and Richard Hamilton, published ''Culture Carriers Stamp Out Art''to raise funds for the striking workers. The "stamps" were published in a limited edition of only 250 each (some artists, like Paolozzi and Allen Jones created more than one design), with the artists signing each by hand in blue ink with his initials on the lower right. Allen Jones "Mail Order" is an especially clever take on the project; it is at once a postage stamp (hence the title "Mail Order"), but it also refers to the popular mail order catalogues of the era. It was a particular preoccupation of Jones, who, separately, created a large lithograph called "Janet is Wearing" -- referring to his wife Janet, but playing upon the advertising jargon of the day, used in mail order catalogues. For this particular project - creating a stamp to raise money for mail carriers...
    Category

    1970s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Offset, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Ink

  • Limited Edition Coloring Book (Artist Book of 20 Bound Offset Lithographs), 1985
    By Keith Haring
    Located in New York, NY
    Keith Haring Coloring Book (Artist Book of 20 Bound Offset Lithographs), 1985, 1986 Artist Book of 20 staple bound Offset Lithographs Plate signed on cover page; with publisher and a...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Abstract Prints

    Materials

    Lithograph, Offset, Mixed Media

  • Inflatable Baby (in original Pop Shop Box)
    By Keith Haring
    Located in New York, NY
    Keith Haring Inflatable Baby (in original Pop Shop Box), 1985 Inflatable Vinyl Figure Authorized artist signature on outside of box. 6 × 6 9/10 × 2 1/5 inches Unframed Keith Haring’s Pop Shops were born out of the artist’s desire to make his whimsical aesthetic accessible to the widest audience possible. “I wanted it to be a place where, yes, not only collectors could come, but also kids from the Bronx,” Haring said of the Pop Shops. The street artist opened two Pop Shops—one in Manhattan in 1986 and another in Tokyo in 1987—where art, clothes, posters, other ephemera, and drawings by peers like Jean-Michel Basquiat could be purchased at affordable prices. Haring painted floor to ceiling murals at both boutiques, creating an immersive environment for visitors to browse and enjoy his beloved art. Today, Haring enthusiasts make the pilgrimage to see the original New York Pop Shop ceiling installed in the entryway of the New York Historical Society. This Keith Haring vinyl inflatable sculpture comes with the original screen printed box. This is the piece that was originally sold at Keith Haring's Pop Shop. Although the exact edition number is unknown, there were only a limited number of works created and sold by Haring in the Pop Shop - so these pieces are considered desirable collectors' items and are quite scarce - especially in such good condition with original box. Artwork shown inflated but actually comes uninflated and new in the vintage box...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Mixed Media

    Materials

    Plastic, Cardboard, Mixed Media, Offset

  • Hardback Monograph: hand signed and inscribed to ex owner of 20th Century Fox
    By Ed Ruscha
    Located in New York, NY
    Ed Ruscha Ed Ruscha, Hand Signed and inscribed to Marvin Davis, former owner of 20th Century Fox, and his wife Barbara, 2000 Hardback illustrated monograph (book) with color plates. ...
    Category

    Early 2000s Pop Art Mixed Media

    Materials

    Ink, Mixed Media, Offset, Board

  • Original Vintage Pop Art 1965 Collage Lithograph Larry Rivers Poster Brandeis
    By Larry Rivers
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Larry Rivers Modernist mixed media "Brandeis Show Collage" work on cut paper. (this appears to be a vintage lithograph. It has a label that describes it as watercolor and charcoal on back. It is definitley hand cut.) Signed in several areas and stencilled across center. Work measures approx. 34 3/4" height x 20 3/4" width. Frame measures approx. 38 3/8" height x 26 1/4" width overall including frame. Silver paint loss on frame. Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg) (1923 – 2002) was an American artist, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was one of the first artists to merge non-objective, non-narrative art with narrative and objective abstraction. Rivers took up painting in 1945 and studied at the Hans Hofmann School from 1947–48. He earned a BA in art education from New York University in 1951. His work was quickly acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. A 1953 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware was damaged in fire at the museum five years later. He was a pop artist of the New York School, reproducing everyday objects of American popular culture as art. He was one of eleven New York artists featured in the opening exhibition at the Terrain Gallery in 1955 along with Paul Mommer, Leonard Baskin, Peter Grippe During the early 1960s Rivers lived in the Hotel Chelsea, notable for its artistic residents such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Arthur C. Clarke, Dylan Thomas, Sid Vicious and multiple people associated with Andy Warhol Factory and where he brought several of his French nouveau réalistes friends like Yves Klein who wrote there in April 1961 his Manifeste de l'hôtel Chelsea, Arman, Martial Raysse, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Christo & Jean Claude, Daniel Spoerri or Alain Jacquet, several of whom, like Rivers, left some pieces of art in the lobby of the hotel for payment of their rooms. In 1965, Rivers had his first comprehensive retrospective in five important American museums. His final work for the exhibition was The History of the Russian Revolution, which was later on extended permanent display at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. He spent 1967 in London collaborating with the American painter Howard Kanovitz. In 1968, Rivers traveled to Africa for a second time with Pierre Dominique Gaisseau to finish their documentary Africa and I, which was a part of the groundbreaking NBC series Experiments in Television. During this trip they narrowly escaped execution as suspected mercenaries. During the 1970s, Rivers worked closely with Diana Molinari and Michel Auder on many video tape projects, including the infamous Tits, and also worked in neon. Rivers's legs appeared in John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1971 film Up Your Legs Forever. From 1940–1945 he worked as a jazz saxophonist in New York City, changing his name to Larry Rivers in 1940 after being introduced as "Larry Rivers and the Mudcats" at a local pub. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music in 1945–46, along with Miles Davis, with whom he remained friends until Davis's death in 1991. Larry Rivers was born in the Bronx to Samuel and Sonya Grossberg, Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. In 1945, he married Augusta Berger, and they had one son, Steven. Rivers also adopted Berger's son from a previous relationship, Joseph, and reared both children after the couple divorced. In 1949 he had his first one-man exhibition at the Jane Street Gallery in New York. This same year, he met and became friends with John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch. In 1950 he met Frank O’Hara. This same year he took his first trip to Europe spending eight months in Paris, France, reading and writing poetry. Beginning in 1950 and continuing until Frank’s death in July of 1966, Larry Rivers and Frank O’Hara cultivated a uniquely creative friendship that produced numerous collaborations, as well as inspired paintings and poems. In 1951 Rivers’ works were shown at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery where he continued to show annually (except 1955) for about 10 years. In 1954 he had his first exhibition of sculptures at the Stable Gallery, New York. In 1955 The Museum of Modern Art acquired Washington Crossing the Delaware. This same year he won 3rd prize in the Corcoran Gallery national painting competition for “Self-Figure.” Rivers’ also painted “Double Portrait of Berdie” in 1955, which was soon purchased by the Whitney Museum. In 1957 he and Frank O’Hara began work on “Stones,” a collaborative mix of images and poetry in a series of lithograph for Tatyana Grosman’s company ULAE. During this time he also appeared on the television game show “The $64,000.00 Question” where along with another contestant, they both won, each receiving $32,000.00. In 1958 he again spent time in Paris and played in various jazz bands. In 1959 he painted Cedar Bar Menu...
    Category

    1960s Pop Art Mixed Media

    Materials

    Lithograph

  • HEART II Signed Hand Colored Lithograph, Love Symbol, Red, Yellow, Turquoise
    By Peter Max
    Located in Union City, NJ
    HEART II - is a unique, hand colored lithograph by the pop culture icon - Peter Max. The image Heart II was printed in 1981 as a limited edition lithograph of 165, using traditional...
    Category

    1980s Pop Art Mixed Media

    Materials

    Mixed Media, Lithograph

Recently Viewed

View All