File:ICONS Polaroid-Haring-C-Note.jpg

English: It is a photo of the photograph ICONS. ICONS is a Polaroid x Keith Haring photograph of the "Look Up! Billboard Art Exhibition, Oct. 17th - Nov. 16th, 2021, Silicon Valley, California, that featured "Incarceration Nation," a work by American prison artist Donald "C-Note" Hooker. Incarceration Nation is considered the premier work of art on mass incarceration in the United states.

The photograph is named ICONS, because it features three icons, American Graffiti/Street artist Keith Haring, American prison artist Donald "C-Note" Hooker, and Polaroid Corporation.

American Street artist Keith Haring (1958 – 1990) remains one of the world’s most well-known Street art legends. Haring began as a New York City subway Graffiti writer. He eventually moved away from doing criminal art, to doing commissioned Street art. Today, Haring would have been labeled as an artivist, as he began to incorporate social issues into his art, such as HIV/AIDS, Crack is Wack, and anti apartheid art.

American prison artist Donald "C-Note" Hooker (1965 - ) is one of the world's most prolific prisoner artists. Coming to national attention in 2015, his art work has been used to change lives, save lives, raise millions of dollars for rehabilitation and restoration, and made history in the world of fashion. Nicknamed "the Billboard Banksy," C-Note became the first prison artist to have two solo Billboard Art Exhibitions.

Polaroid is an American company founded in 1937. It is best known for its instant film and cameras. At its peak employment in 1978, there were 21,000 employees, with its peak revenue becoming $3 billion in 1991. In 1976, when Kodak announced instant film cameras, Polaroid sued Kodak for stealing its patented instant photography process. The suit in federal court lasted 10 years, and Kodak was ordered to cease instant picture production, plus pay Polaroid $909.5 million. Instant camera and film was very popular amongst artists, like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. In 2001, Polaroid filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After several stints in bankruptcy or liquidation, in 2020, Polaroid reemerged as the Polaroid Company.

In the summer of 2021, PBS, in partnership with FilmRise and Universal Music, had broadcasted a six-part series on the world of live music photography entitled, "ICON: MUSIC THROUGH THE LENS." It was a documentary of Rock and Roll and other musicians through the years, whose stories had been told through photojournalism. Part six noted the role of Polaroid film in the history of this photojournalism, and of a revival in the use of its cameras and film.

American prison artist C-Note had watched the six part series, and had seen the revival of the iconic Polaroid film and camera. He suggested to Silicon Valley Fine Art and Real Estate Broker Anna D. Smith, who was his art broker, to look at purchasing one of these cameras and film. During this same period, Polaroid just announced it was releasing the Polaroid x Keith Haring camera and film. Polaroid noted the famed artist's use of their cameras and film in his work.

As a result of their conversation, Smith purchased Polaroid's new product, the Polaroid x Keith Haring camera and film. In October of 2021, Smith curated the "Look Up! Billboard Art Exhibition that featured Incarceration Nation. She is the photographer who shot the image with the Polaroid x Keith Haring camera and film.