Real Work

Posted on September 8, 2007 by pica-blogger

Mammalian Diving Reflex
Haircuts By Children
posted by Amber Bell
At the outside hair salon, the young barbers were working with fierce concentration. Every trim of the shears was a meditation. Their customers sat patiently, oddly silent. In the adult world, professional haircuts seem accentuated by the perpetual chatter of the hairdresser: Gossip, surface pass-the-time questions, bits and pieces from everyday life. In this world of young hairstylists, each hair deserved such intense focus that idle conversation was out of the question. As the haircutters worked, they politely answered questions, and spent the rest of their energy on the job at hand.
Over at the refreshment table, spirits were lighthearted. Hairdressers on break ate sack lunches and sold lemonade. They cheerfully explained that they had gotten two hours of training after school on mannequins in preparation for their current position.
Back at the barber shop, an adult was interviewed on camera about the project. He spoke briefly about the idea of the performance being to empower children by entrusting them with adults’ personal appearances. This would give them confidence either in the moment, or later, upon reflection.
The adults sitting under the shears looked either dubious, nervous, or slightly hypnotized. It appeared as though their commitment was to an avant-garde adventure, and each was prepared to hide the results under a hat when finished.
Unfortunately, it seemed that although the adults involved entrusted the children with their locks, they did not trust that the outcome would be stylish. The children, on the other hand, worked with dedicated care and skill that was limited only by their brief training.

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3 Responses to Real Work

  1. Darren O'Donnell says:
    September 10, 2007 at 10:37 am

    Hey Amber,
    You should have stuck around a little longer. The kids became quite comfortable after their first cut. You also would have seen a lot of happy, excited adults experiencing the event who were/are quite proud to show-off their new haircuts. Talk to Philip at PICA, he’s happily sporting his new style.
    We did 70 cuts, many of them were wonderfully fun, many were perfectly professional and rarely did i see a dubious, nervous or hypnotized adult.
    thanks for checking it out.
    Darren

    Reply
  2. Darren O'Donnell says:
    September 10, 2007 at 10:38 am

    Hey Amber,
    You should have stuck around a little longer. The kids became quite comfortable after their first cut. You also would have seen a lot of happy, excited adults experiencing the event who were/are quite proud to show-off their new haircuts. Talk to Philip at PICA, he’s happily sporting his new style.
    We did 70 cuts, many of them were wonderfully fun, many were perfectly professional and rarely did i see a dubious, nervous or hypnotized adult.
    thanks for checking it out.
    Darren

    Reply
  3. The Young Haircutters says:
    September 10, 2007 at 12:55 pm

    Hi Amber,
    How are you? Thanks for watching. Thank you for writing an article about what happened. We had four hours of training not two.
    Why didn’t you get a haircut? FYI, many of our clients were pleased with their haircuts and came back to show them off the next day.
    And, also fyi, we talked and asked questions to our clients. For example, we talked about our favorite movies, favorite book, favorite color, favorite food, their jobs, where they were born, when they were born, what they thought about the project and what made them do it, etc.
    Plus, our clients did not look dubious, nervous or hypnotized at all. It was fun for everyone.
    Why didn’t you stay longer?
    Sincerely,
    The Haircutters
    from Glenfair Elementary School
    5th graders

    Reply

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