Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work continues to embody the concepts of birth, death, sexuality and war, all from the point of view of view of a gay man living in New York City in the 1980s. Throughout his career he devoted much of his time to public works, loaded with social messages, often quite political. His work demonstrated very clearly how what was happening in the world at the time had influenced him personally, as well as the impact of his sexual orientation and his diagnosis of AIDS on his life. Sexuality, particularly homosexuality, was one of many ideas throughout Haring's work, but it was rarely presented in a positive light; Haring often portrayed sexuality as threatening, often associating it with images of monsters and skeletons. Such an association makes sense when we realize that Haring's perception of sexuality was accompanied by constant fear, with the threat of HIV always looming throughout his adult life. Haring's work demonstrates a lot of the stigma associated with same-sex relationships, with Haring being among the first to present homosexuality in such a progressive way. Haring worked hard to remove sexuality, particularly homosexuality, from the subculture and stereotypes it embodied during the 1980s. Much of his work gave a minority community of gay men the chance to express and appreciate their sexuality through their art. Unfortunately, due to the strong association presented between homosexuality and HIV/AIDS throughout his work, as progressive and as important as it may have been, his message may have been misinterpreted by those who were not not informed about HIV during this period, thus reinforcing the link between homosexuality and HIV/AIDS. and AIDS in the minds of his... middle of paper ......managed to attract a diverse audience and ensure that his images would stay with them forever. Dying of AIDS-related complications at the age of 31, Keith Haring's legacy lives on through his work and charitable work, raising awareness of beauty even after death. Works Cited “Art.com – The Keith Haring Artwork Collection”. Art.com - Keith Haring's art collection. Np, nd."Bio | Keith Haring." Biography | Keith Haring. Np, nd. “Feature article”. “Art for AIDS” receives sculptures by Keith Haring. Np, and Web. February 6, 2014. “Keith Haring Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d.. .