Ludo 3 is a 1985 lithograph on paper by Keith Haring. Haring’s devotion to highlighting important social justice issues to include the AIDS stigma, Apartheid, political media conspiracy, religion, and nuclear war among many others stretched to the fabrics of his canvases. In his works, Haring codes symbolic figures to create comprehensive stories that would develop overtime, always leaving room for ambiguity with his style.
The Ludo portfolio joins Haring’s signature, vibrant graffiti style with an almost gruesome edge. The characters (and disembodied extremities) depicted in the portfolio venture from previously more neutral figures into an uneasy arrangement of parts. In Ludo 3, the central figure takes on a gelatinous form with contorted arms and gestural lines that suggest intense movement. Notably, the figure bears an “X” on its chest, a marking frequently used by Haring to imbue a form with significance that varies with interpretation but that often indicated what society might view as “the other”. Additionally, the Ludo 3 character appears to sport a helmet with a small, peering window, as if in a protective hazmat suit. Compounding the visual and thematic tension of the piece, beneath the black outline lives another rhythmic, red creature. Though similar in line, the forms are opposing, except for the synonymous placement of the “X” marks on both entities leaving questions as to the relationship of the main figure and its haunting red stalker.
