Creativity From Without

The expressionists were known for creating beautiful expressive pieces that spoke more than simply about the natural quality of the subjects being painted, but expressed something deeper, from within. While inspiration and expression from within is a common point of interest, expression from without is equally as important of a form of creation.

Sometimes when one is stuck in a rut of wondering how or what to create, one must not look within, yet most explore the outer world. One artist I would like to mention who found creativity from without is Keith Haring. Keith Haring became a thriving artist in New York City, not by participating in the usual galleries and exhibitions, but by displaying his designs in the alternative art communities. He found his creative impulse in seeing all of the blank canvases of black matte paper covering empty advertising panels in the New York City Subway stations. He set to work with white chalk creating many pieces of design for the entire new york public to feast their eyes upon and delight themselves with everyday, and the subway became Haring's initial laboratory for creation.

Haring also continued on to produce many public works designs in the 1980s. Haring created the infamous "Crack is Wack"Mural in Harlem River Park, a mural for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986, as well as an untitled mural at the Woodhull Medical Center, and many others throughout the city, as living exposure of Haring's work and creativity in the world around him, and as a ever-fresh artistic addition to our daily lives. Before he died, Haring set up the Keith Haring Foundation, to assist AIDS related and children's charities, and he became an active proponent of AIDS awareness and activism.