Keith Haring's work with tarps, particularly from 1984 to 1985, exemplifies his innovative approach to art and his desire to engage with a wide audience beyond the conventional gallery spaces. Haring began experimenting with vinyl or muslin tarpaulin (tarp) as a surface for his vibrant pop imagery around 1981-1982, parallel to his famous Subway Drawings, which featured white chalk on black paper over expired subway advertisements. This period marked a significant exploration in Haring's career as he delved into the broader art scene of the early '80s, which was rich with installation, performance, graffiti art, and video in non-conventional venues like the East Village Club 57 and Mudd Club.

Haring was fascinated by the potential of art to live through the imaginations of those viewing it, a belief he expressed in a 1984 Flash Art article, stating, "Art lives through the imaginations of the people who are seeing it. Without that contact, there is no art." This philosophy drove him to apply his iconic imagery on various mediums, including photo-backdrop paper, statues, terra cotta vases, human bodies, detritus from the streets, and eventually, traditional canvas around 1985. The choice of tarpaulin allowed Haring to maintain an "alternative" pop sensibility while introducing his work into significant galleries of the '80s, such as Leo Castelli and Tony Shafrazi.

The tarps, unlike traditional canvases, were not stretched but hung via grommets, offering a continuous expanse of canvas on a monumental scale that still retained a "popular" dimension vital to Haring's ethos. The exhibited "Tarps" ranged in imagery from signature icons like the Radiant Baby to patterns and portraits, including a portrait of Grace Jones, whom Haring painted several times. These works underscored Haring's exuberant celebration of humanity and showcased his love for large-scale projects that could captivate the "imaginations" of a broad audience. Throughout his ten-year career, sadly concluding with his death in 1990, Haring painted over fifty murals and similar large-scale projects in more than twenty-five cities, emphasizing his commitment to art that was accessible and impactful​ (Vdwny)​​ (Vdwny)​.