Early work[]He first received public attention with his public art in subways. Starting in 1980, he organized exhibitions at , which were filmed by the photographer . Around this time, "The Radiant Baby" became his symbol. His bold lines, vivid colors, and active figures carry strong messages of life and unity. He participated in the Times Square Exhibition and drew animals and human faces for the first time. That same year, he photocopied and pasted provocative collages made from cut-up and recombined headlines around the city. In 1981, he sketched his first chalk drawings on black paper and painted plastic, metal, and .By 1982, Haring had established friendships with fellow emerging artists , ,  and . He created more than 50 public works between 1982 and 1989 in dozens of cities around the world. His "Crack is Wack" mural, created in 1986, is visible from New York's FDR Drive. He got to know , who was the theme of several of Haring's pieces, including "Andy Mouse". His friendship with Warhol would prove to be a decisive element in his eventual success.In December 2007, an area of the American Textile Building in the  neighborhood of New York City was discovered to contain a painting of Haring's from 1979.International breakthrough[]In 1984, Haring visited Australia and painted wall murals in  (such as the 1984 'Detail-Mural at ') and  and received a commission from the  and the  to create a mural which temporarily replaced the water curtain at the National Gallery. He also visited and painted in , the ,  and . He became politically active, designing a Free South Africa poster in 1985, and in 1986, painting a section of the . He was interested in working with children and this inspired the project Citykids Speak on Liberty, which involved 1,000 children collaborating on a project for the centennial of the .When asked about the commercialism of his work, Haring said: "I could earn more money if I just painted a few things and jacked up the price. My shop is an extension of what I was doing in the subway stations, breaking down the barriers between high and low art." By the arrival of , his work began reflecting more  themes, such as anti-,  awareness, and the . He even created several  pieces influenced by other products: , cigarettes, and . In 1987 he had his own exhibitions in , , and elsewhere. He also designed the cover for the benefit album , on which Madonna was included. In 1988 he joined a select group of artists whose work has appeared on the label of  wine.Haring also created public murals in the lobby and ambulatory care department of  on , Brooklyn.A rare video of Haring at work shows his energetic style. Haring wrote: "I am becoming much more aware of movement. The importance of movement is intensified when a painting becomes a performance. The performance (the act of painting) becomes as important as the resulting painting."Haring was openly  and was a strong advocate of ; however, in 1988, he was diagnosed with AIDS. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation to provide funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children's programs, and to expand the audience for his work through exhibitions, publications and the licensing of his images. Haring used his imagery during the last years of his life to speak about his illness and to generate activism and awareness about AIDS. In 1989, he was invited by the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center to join a show of site-specific artwork for the building at 208 West 13th Street. Haring chose the second-floor men's room for his muralOnce Upon a Time. In June, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio (in Italian: Chiesa di Sant'Antonio abate) in  (), he painted the last public work of his life, the mural "Tuttomondo" (translation: "All world").