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Keith Haring’s rise to fame in the eighties is attributed to pop art, neo expressionism and graffiti-like drawings in New York City’s subways. This decade was ripe for an explosion of creativity brought about by a group of young, outsider artists who used the streets as their canvas. With his unmistakable style, Haring, protégé of Andy Warhol, unleashes a revolution in the art of the eighties. He is inspired by graffiti, comics, music, dance, ‘high’ art and popular culture, and develops a recognizable visual language. Keith Haring is a leader in the New York downtown community in the eighties, which derives its creativity from urban street culture. He sees it as his mission to expose social wrongs through art. His cartoon-like paintings and drawings were about AIDS, drugs and apartheid.