Chocolate Buddha 2 is a lithograph by Keith Haring from 1985. Haring often used his art as a medium for his political and social activism. In his five part series, the title Chocolate Buddha may serve to communicates Haring’s opinions on consumerism. With “Buddha” standing as a clear referencing the spiritual leader of Buddhism, and “chocolate” perhaps implying consumption, the sacred object or image in questions becomes commodified, and exists as an object to be consumed. Haring is considering how mass reproduction meddles with the cultural, non-material value of an object or symbol.

Haring’s entanglement of bold lines tightly fills the space of the lithograph, with thin cross-hatched lines creating a strong sense of texture. The anthropomorphic figures outstretch into each other, with their forms extending into the center of the work to form a heart. The circular form at the top of the lithograph is a recurrent motif within the Chocolate Buddha series. The circular nature and geometric symmetry of the overall form of the work relates to traditional renderings of a Buddhist Mandala.

See also: Chocolate Buddha 1, Chocolate Buddha 3, Chocolate Buddha 4, and Chocolate Buddha 5.