Here’s the philosophy behind the Pop Shop: I wanted to continue the same sort of communication as with the subway drawings. I wanted to attract the same wide range of people and I wanted it to be a place where, yes, not only collectors could come, but also kids from the Bronx… this was still an art statement. – Keith Haring

In 1988, influential artist Keith Haring released Pop Shop II, a set of four screeprints each bearing a different dancing figure. As a Graffiti street artist, public accessibility of artwork was of paramount importance to Haring, so he opened his Pop Shop in downtown New York City and Tokyo which had walls covered in murals and novelty items with Haring’s imagery. Haring’s Pop Shop series was produced when he opened the store, using fluorescent colors, signature trademarks and simple figures from graffiti that appealed to the masses. Haring’s emblems have become a signature hieroglyphic style that responds to many of the relevant issues and NYC street culture of the 1980s.