Haring on Houston

I watched this mural going up slowly on Houston between The Bowery and Second Avenue, and while I'm not much a Keith Haring fan, I think it's a nice change from the typical Broadway/Houston billboard assault. It was commissioned by the City as a homage to Haring on his birthday (May 4). Nylon magazine has photos of its creation.

According to Deitch Projects, which is one of the sponsors of the mural:

The Keith Haring Foundation, Goldman Properties and Deitch Projects announce the recreation of Keith Haring’s celebrated Houston Street and Bowery mural. The mural became an instant downtown landmark after Keith painted it in the summer of 1982. The mural was up for only a few months in the summer of 1982 before it was painted out but its image remains imprinted in the memory of many people who were part of the downtown artist community in the early 1980s.

The mural is being repainted by Gotham Scenic using the extensive photographic documentation of the original work. The work will be unveiled on May 4, 2008 the day that would have been Keith Haring’s 50th Birthday.

The mural should be up until the end of the year. For more on Haring public art, see Gothamist.