Pop Art in the Sky
Figure With Heart By Keith Haring
Continues Blue Sky Gallery Series
Featuring Contemporary Art Balloons In
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®
Pop Art takes flight again this Thanksgiving as another icon of the contemporary art world joins the 82nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®.
On Thursday, November 27th at 9:00 AM, Figure with Heart by Keith Haring will debut as a 48-foot tall helium balloon in the holiday celebration. Continuing the Macy's Parade's Blue Sky Gallery series, Figure with Heart fulfills the late artist's dream of having a balloon in the Macy's Parade.
In tribute to this beloved artist, who would have turned 50 this year, Haring's Figure with Heart is the latest entrant to the Blue Sky Gallery series. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ® began the Blue Sky Gallery series in 2005 when Parade officials invited artist Tom Otterness to create a balloon version of one of his classic pieces of Humpty Dumpty. Aiming to inject contemporary art into a pop culture phenomenon, the Blue Sky Gallery series continued in 2007 with the debut of "Rabbit" by Jeff Koons.
Working in partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation, Macy's Parade Studio reconceived one of Haring's ink on paper drawings, Untitled (Figure with Heart), 1987, as a giant balloon. The balloon is a three-dimensional rendering of Haring's drawing that will appear flat against the backdrop of the sky just as it might have appeared on the subway walls once favored by the artist.
"We are delighted and proud to collaborate with Macy's in presenting a Haring balloon in the 2008 Thanksgiving Day Parade® .Keith himself had long dreamed of being included in this thrilling, annual New York tradition. We believe that the Macy's Parade's adaptation of Haring's artwork is very much in keeping with Keith's own populist vision of art, and the debut of the balloon is a fitting coda to the 50th anniversary celebrations of his birth," said Julia Gruen, Executive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation.
"Keith Haring, much like the Macy's Parade is a pop culture phenomenon," said Amy Kule, Producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "Haring's illustrations are vivid, playful and lend themselves perfectly to being transformed into a Macy's Parade balloon." She adds, " We are thrilled that the debut of Figure with Heart will fulfill Keith's dream and look forward to hosting members of the Haring family as they see it become reality on Thanksgiving Day."
The 82nd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ® kicks off on Thursday, November 27, 2008 and is broadcast live nationally on NBC-TV, from 9am to 12pm in all time zones.
About Keith Haring: During a brief but intense career that spanned the 1980s, Haring devoted much of his time to public works that often carried social messages, producing more than 50 community artworks in cities around the world - many of which were created for charities, hospitals, orphanages and day care centers. In 1988, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS; in 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation, which supports organizations engaging in research and care with respect to AIDS and HIV infection, as well as organizations providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children. Haring's work spoke about his illness while offering poignant messages of vitality and unity. With his bold lines and iconic figures, he awakened people and generated activism and awareness about AIDS worldwide. Keith Haring died of AIDS-related complications at the age of 31 on February 16, 1990, but his signature imagery and philanthropic legacy live on.
About Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® : With more than 50 million viewers across the country and more than 3 million spectators lining up along the streets of New York City each year, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national icon that has grown into a world-famous holiday event. For over 80 years, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season. Growing in size and scale, the Parade proudly marches down a 2.5-mile route in New York City with over 10,000 participants in tow including Macy's employees, their families, celebrities, athletes, clowns and dance groups, all spreading holiday cheer. Featuring fabulous floats and America's best marching bands, the signature of the Parade continues to be the world-famous helium balloons. For more information on the Macy's Parade please visit www.macysparade.com or call the Parade hotline at (212) 494-4495.
