Keith Haring and Dan Eldon both used art journals to document their lives and ideas. Haring used his journal as a bank for sketches, notes, and reflections, documenting daily life in a less personal way. Eldon filled his journals between ages 15-22 with collages, photos, drawings and ephemera, documenting his travels and using satire as commentary. He considered his journals personal works of art, while Haring saw his as a useful tool. Both artists represented concepts in their work and left their mark before passing away at young ages.

1. Comparative Artist Study
Art Journals
Of
Keith Haring
&
Dan Eldon

2. BIOGRAPHIES

3. - Born May 4, 1958 in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Died of AIDS on February 16, 1990 in New York City
- American artist and social activist
- Represented concepts of birth, death, sexuality, war, and love.
- As a child, Haring learnt a love for art at a very early age, learning basic cartooning skills
from his father, and from the popular culture around him, such as Dr. Seuss and Walt
Disney.
- Upon High School graduation, Keith enrolled in the Ivy School of Professional Art in
Pittsburgh, a commercial arts school. He soon realized that he had very little interest in
becoming a commercial graphic artist, and, after two semesters, dropped out.
- While in Pittsburgh, Haring continued to study and work independently, and in 1978, had
a solo exhibition of his work at the Pittsburgh Arts and Crafts Center.
- Later that year, he moved to New York and enrolled in the School of Visual Arts (SVA).
In New York, he discovered a thriving alternative art community, developing outside of
galleries and museums, in the downtown streets and subways. Here, he became friends with
fellow artists Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as the musicians, performance
artists, and graffiti writers that comprised this burgeoning underground art community.
KEITH HARING

4. - Born in London on the 17th of September, 1970
- Stoned to death in Mogadishu, Somalia on July 12th, 1993
- Photo-journalist, artist, activist
- At 7 years old, Dan and his parents moved to Nairobi, Kenya
- In 1982, an attempted coup in Kenya left Dan and his family in the aftermath of a
political crisis. Eldon assisted his mother in her free-lance journalist career, learning the
ropes of journalism at a young age
- Soon after, Dan began practicing photography, with his pictures featured in local
newspapers and magazines
- At the age of 15, he started producing journals filled with collages, photographs,
writing, and drawings
- Dan graduated from the International School of Kenya in 1988, and travelled to New
York for a job at a magazine.
- Later that year, he enrolled at Pasadena City College.
- After a summer of travelling from Nairobi to Malawi in a Land Rover, Eldon
transferred to UCLA, and frequently travelled to African countries to visit and work on
various projects over the course of his studies.
DAN ELDON

5. JOURNALS

6. -Used his art journal as a bank for ideas,
thoughts, sketches, reflections theories,
poems, financial notes, etc...
- Used his journals to document day to
day life, rather than life experiences and
travels.
- Less personal
- Useful tool, rather than work of art
-
-Created most of his journals between
the ages of 15 and 22
-Filled with collages, photographs,
drawings, food labels, newspaper
clippings, ticket stubs, etc.
-Documented his adventures and travels
in his journals.
-Often used satire and cartoons as
commentary.
-Kept his journals as personal
statements, which he shared with only a
few people.
- Considered his books to be pieces of
art themselves
Keith H.Dan E.

7. Dan
Eldon

8. Keith Haring