In 1986, Keith Haring was offered an Amiga personal computer by Timothy Leary. The psychedelic pioneer-turned-software developer was then devising a video game adaptation of William Gibson\u2019s 1984 novel\u00a0Neuromancer<\/i>, and had invited Haring to create visuals for the game using the Commodore-made machine.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cThis is the hot graphics computer that Andy [Warhol] helped publicize last year,\u201d he told Haring, referring to the Pop artist\u2019s <\/span>attendance at the 1985 Amiga press conference<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At this point, Haring had overcome his initial ambivalence toward technology (\u201cWe are threatened,\u201d he <\/span>journaled in 1978<\/span><\/a>, \u201cby this coming machine aesthetic\u201d) as he became increasingly acquainted with digital tools in the 1980s. He was one of the few artists to experiment with <\/span>Quantel Paintbox<\/span><\/a>, a Photoshop forerunner, and most famously received, along with Warhol and Kenny Scharf, <\/span>a computer tutorial from Steve Jobs<\/span><\/a> on nine-year-old Sean Lennon\u2019s Apple Macintosh in 1984.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While Leary\u2019s project would eventually fall through, Haring would nonetheless use the Amiga to create drawings in his vibrant visual language. In fluorescent hues, the digital works feature his figurative motifs, drawn with his trademark bold lines and squiggles that convey a spirited kineticism, however pixelated. Long stored on floppy disks in <\/span>Leary\u2019s papers<\/span><\/a>, the drawings had never seen the light of day\u2014until now.<\/span><\/p>\n Keith Haring, Untitled (April 14, 1987)<\/em> (1987). Photo: \u00a9 Keith Haring Foundation, courtesy of Christie\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From September 12\u201320, Christie\u2019s will host \u201cKeith Haring: Pixel Pioneer,\u201d an online auction of five NFTs of the artist\u2019s Amiga drawings, which have been minted on the Ethereum blockchain. The sale is organized in collaboration with licensing agency Artestar and the Keith Haring Studio, a subsidiary of the Keith Haring Foundation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Amiga drawings are significant because they were created at the dawn of the consumer computer age,\u201d Gil Vazquez, executive director and president of Keith Haring Foundation, told Artnet News.\u00a0\u201cEven then, Keith knew that computers were going to be important to people\u2019s lives as their capabilities continued to advance.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Haring\u2019s drive to master the digital medium ran alongside <\/span>the street artist\u2019s conviction<\/span><\/a> that art should transcend the walls of galleries, Vazquez said. <\/span>\u201cWhat we know about Keith\u2019s approach to digital tools is his belief that they, too, could be used to communicate ideas. Art being expressed digitally via computers\u2014the Amiga, in this case\u2014was in Keith\u2019s mind an inevitability,\u201d he added.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Keith Haring, Untitled #1 (April 16, 1987)<\/em> (1987). Photo: \u00a9 Keith Haring Foundation, courtesy of Christie\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Each of the NFTs in \u201cPixel Pioneer\u201d is estimated at $200,000 to $500,000, with the entire collection valued at $1.65 million. They\u2019re conservative estimates, coming on the heels of Christie\u2019s 2021 <\/span>NFT auction<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>Amiga drawings created by Andy Warhol<\/span><\/a>, which collectively raked in <\/span>$3.3 million<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe looked at the traditional Keith Haring market for both prints and paintings, but also where we are in terms of the digital market today and how the Warhol ones did in 2021,\u201d said Nicole Sales Giles, vice president and director of digital art sales at Christie\u2019s. \u201cThey\u2019re estimated more conservatively to start, and we hope that it\u2019s a good price point to attract bidders.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Keith Haring, Untitled #2 (April 16, 1987)<\/em> (1987). Photo: \u00a9 Keith Haring Foundation, courtesy of Christie\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The collection is arriving amid a dicey NFT market, but one which has nonetheless seen wins recently for debut drops headlined by <\/span>Jackson Pollock<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Yue Minjun<\/span><\/a>. Haring\u2019s launch in Web3 could gain traction among a collecting community whose ostensible ethos aligns with that of the artist, or that\u2019s the hope. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKeith was such a proponent of bringing art to everyone,\u201d Sales Gilles said. \u201cI think if Keith were alive today, he would be a huge supporter of the Web3 community, which is trying to merge the cultures of traditional and online art collecting.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe feel that the time for the proliferation of art in the digital realm has come,\u201d Vazquez said. \u201cCreating works of art in unconventional mediums was something Keith was known for. The technology has finally caught up to the vision. This is an important moment.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKeith Haring: Pixel Pioneer\u201d is on view at Christie\u2019s Seoul, 2F, 5 Palpan-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul, South Korea, September 7\u20138, 2023; and Christie\u2019s New York, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York, September 14\u201319, 2023.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/app\/news-upload\/2023\/08\/Untitled-1-April-16-1987-1024x640.jpg\")
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