Polaroid Celebrates Pop Artist Keith Haring with Exclusive Collaboration
“Ever since the heyday of New York in the ‘80s, Keith Haring and Polaroid have had a mutual admiration for each other’s work. Partnering with the Keith Haring Foundation through Artestar feels so natural it’s almost like a homecoming for us. We are so proud to keep Keith’s legacy alive, which is why we approached this collection of Polaroid products as another love letter to his amazing work,” Marta Martinez, Polaroid Chief Marketing Officer, said.
From drawing on subway walls, to challenging the conventions of the art world, and using his platform for activism, Keith Haring’s legacy and art broke rules and changed the world forever. This partnership celebrates Keith Haring’s trail-blazing spirit and puts his art in the hands of everyone.
“Keith Haring was one of my heroes growing up. His work’s simplicity, boldness and emotion have influenced my design approach to this day. Haring’s relationship with Polaroid over the years makes this collaboration even more meaningful. We have tried to capture his essence with an iconic product that celebrates Haring’s amazing talent and his love for Polaroid,” Ignacio Germade, Polaroid Chief Design Officer, said.
"Keith Haring and Polaroid are such a perfect fit,” Gil Vazquez, Acting Director of the Keith Haring Studio, said. “The artist and the brand are both so iconic with shared egalitarian values in really promoting self-expression and creativity for everybody. Keith took a lot of Polaroid shots himself, so there is a legacy here that we are really happy to celebrate.”
Designed in red with bold black and white motifs, the Polaroid x Keith Haring camera leans on Polaroid’s iconic heritage of design while incorporating Haring’s striking artworks, creating a meaningful new way to capture creativity and self expression. The accompanying Polaroid x Keith Haring instant analog i-Type film also features Haring’s art and signature on the brand’s classic square frame.
In a world that rushes to digital shortcuts, this exclusive collaboration pays homage to Haring’s analog world full of playful hand-drawn creations, showing the world that art is made to break rules. Thus, informing our own beliefs that pushing the boundaries of creativity can bring people together regardless of age, gender, race, socioeconomic class, or sexuality.
Partnership done in collaboration with Artestar, a global licensing agency and creative consultancy representing high-profile artists, photographers, designers and creatives.
Polaroid x Keith Haring Now Camera MSRP: $119.99, €139.99, £129.99
Polaroid x Keith Haring i-Type Film MSRP: $17.99, €17.99, £16.99
@Polaroid #PolaroidxKeithHaring
About the Keith Haring Foundation:
The mission of the Keith Haring Foundation is to sustain, expand, and protect the legacy of Keith Haring, his art, and his ideals. The Foundation supports not-for-profit organizations that assist children, as well as organizations involved in education, prevention, and care related to AIDS.
Keith Haring (1958-1990) generously contributed his talents and resources to numerous causes. He conducted art workshops with children, created logos and posters for public service agencies, and produced murals, sculptures, and paintings to benefit health centers and disadvantaged communities. In 1989, Haring established a foundation to ensure that his philanthropic legacy would continue indefinitely.
The Keith Haring Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit groups that engage in charitable activities. In accordance with Haring’s wishes, the Foundation concentrates its giving in two areas: the support of organizations which enrich the lives of underprivileged children and the support of organizations which engage in education, prevention, and care with respect to AIDS and HIV infection.
Keith Haring additionally charged the Foundation with maintaining and protecting his artistic legacy after his death. The Foundation maintains a collection of art along with archives that facilitate historical research about the artist and the times and places in which he lived and worked. The Foundation supports arts and educational institutions by funding exhibitions, programming, and publications that serve to contextualize and illuminate Haring’s work and philosophy
Polaroid was founded by Edwin Land in 1937 as an icon of innovation and engineering. It wasn’t until 1943 when Land’s daughter asked why she couldn’t see a photograph of herself immediately that the idea for the instant camera was born. In 1947 it became a reality with the first ever instant camera.
It was the introduction of the breakthrough Polaroid SX-70 camera in 1972 that launched instant photography as we know it today, followed by landmark innovations such as the original OneStep, instant color film; and the Polaroid 600 and Spectra cameras and film formats.
Polaroid cameras went on to inspire artists such as Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Maripol, Keith Haring, and Guy Bourdin who raised the brand to the status of a cultural icon.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the swift rise of digital technology eclipsed instant photography and Polaroid announced the end of instant film production in 2008. But that was short-lived; a dedicated group of instant photography fans under the name ‚The Impossible Project‘ saved the last Polaroid factory in the Netherlands. Since then, they have been the only people in the world making film for vintage Polaroid cameras.
In 2017, The Impossible Project re-launched as Polaroid Originals: a brand dedicated exclusively to Polaroid’s original analog instant photography products. Bringing analog instant photography back under the Polaroid umbrella was a significant milestone, but it was not the end of the journey. In March 2020, Polaroid took the next step and became one brand, with the one name: Polaroid.
Today, Polaroid has analog instant photography at its core and represents the brand that people all over the world came to know and love for over 80 years. By unifying its entire product portfolio under one name, Polaroid is setting out its new vision as a global brand that will continue to create products that bring people together in human and meaningful ways.
Polaroid
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Consultant Global Communications
E-Mail: nico.baulig@haebmau.de
