The Art Process: Hair Art

Hair, whether still attached to a human head or not, has been used as an art material since the 15th century, specifically in the Victorian era. Why not, right?

There are two types of hair art I’d like to enlighten you with: 1. extreme hair styling (I think I made that term up..)  2. weird lockets and broaches made out of hair (also not exactly correct terming), both equally interesting and intricate. 

Let’s start with extreme hair styling. Take a look at the last three photos of this post - this is the work of Japan’s Nagi Noda. She specializes in creating hair pieces made out of human hair in the shapes of wild animals and such. She works them into the lucky model’s own hair and thus, naturally, art and beauty mingle. I think I sort of dig it, do you? Of course, this is an extremely contemporary take on hair styling. I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves at one time or another sitting in a salon, staring at the insane hair cuts and colors on the wall posters, thinking “yikes”. Or perhaps you yourself are adventurous with your own hair, then all the power to you! Let’s not forget, however, all those movies about King So-And-So and Queen Off-With-Her-Head, and the wacko wigs/hair pieces adorned by both men and woman. 

In that same strand (pun completely intended) I’d like to draw some more attention to what earth’s previous humans did with hair - they made wearable objects with it. This was a form of art used by people to keep the memory of a loved one before cameras were invented. So basically, it’s a next-level version of the ever so romantic gesture of giving away a lock of your hair. As you’d expect, hair museums exist dating as far back as the 19th century, showcasing items or paintings made out of all varieties of extracted hair strands. That is something I would gladly pay to peruse. 

I’ve always thought donating your body to science was a great idea, but what about donating your hair to art?

Next week’s art process: The truth about photographing the universe.