The BluePrint Drawings (12) is a print from 1990 by the American Pop artist Keith Haring. This screen print comes from a portfolio of 17 entitled The BluePrint Drawings, a raw and vivid exploration of prominent themes and symbols of his career, most notably the AIDS epidemic. Even early in his career, Haring was devoted to raising awareness for the crisis, but as one of his last portfolios before his death due to the virus, The BluePrint Drawings is outstandingly charged with emotion and weighty imagery.

The BluePrint Drawings (12) is a single-paneled composition of an illustration that recurs throughout the portfolio, depicting two figures: one spotted and tied at the hands, one, plain and actively impaling the other figure. Layering more complexity with the work’s simple and playful artistic style is Haring’s metaphorical visual vernacular that makes his messages universally accessible. Having often used spots as a reference to the AIDS virus, the artist implies that the speckled figure is imprisoned by the disease and susceptible to threats, such as the impaler.

The BluePrint Drawings (12) is a viscerally moving piece that vividly captures the relentless struggle against AIDS, drawing from Haring’s personal experience. Even in its minimalist aesthetic it attests to the profundity of his life and legacy.