By Natalie Boutros
A common misconception in life is that to be wealthy is to be talented and to be in poverty is to be talentless, but that’s not necessarily true. Money has no correlation to skill and artistic talent given to a person throughout their lives, only their access to pursue those talents freely.
Talent is not only given based on creativity but on skill earned through countless amounts of hard work and practice.
An example of building talent without easy access is Keith Haring. Haring grew up with a simple life and a love for drawing. However, he dropped out of the Ivy School of Professional Art when he realized that commercial art just may not be his ‘thing’.
He found a true passion in expressing his artistic talents on subway panels, being able to communicate with the general population while expressing himself freely. His intentions were to make his art accessible to all, a “truly public art” as he says on his website.
Haring became more recognized for his work, began earning favor within the public and received recognition in numerous exhibitions. According to his foundation website, Haring has participated in a one-man exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery, Documenta 7 in Kassel, the São Paulo Biennial, and the Whitney Biennial.
Other showings make up an extensive list, including an animation for the Spectacolor billboard in Times Square, designing sets and backdrops for theaters and clubs, watch designs for Swatch, an advertising campaign for Absolut vodka and creating murals worldwide.
Despite a humble upbringing, Haring became a successful artist and made an effort to be an artistic inspiration for viewers all around the world. Critics may argue that he became famous based on luck, that his art isn’t special and is simply superficial work that can be easily recreated. But that isn’t necessarily true. Many fans of their work say that his work changed their lives and inspired them to pursue art.
Though some may say people are unable to create true art unless they have wealth, it’s not true. Art is something that can’t be labeled as correct or incorrect. It doesn’t have worth based on luxuries or riches, only based on the sincere emotional and mental impact it has on its audience.
Enter your local art contest, email your school’s art teacher and visit your local art museums. Embrace your creativity and use the resources you do have to create your own art, just as Keith Haring did.
