What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your hair? Is it a source of style, carefully coiffed to lure members of the opposite sex? Is it a morning inconvenience that simply refuses to stay down in the back no matter how long you spend brushing it? For some of the guys out there, is it a precious commodity that's vanishing at an alarming rate? Now here's the real question: How many of you have ever thought of your hair as a potential work of art?
I personally have never viewed my sandy locks as a Picasso in progress, but after this Thursday I might change my mind. Thanks to the Hood Museum, Dartmouth students are being given a unique opportunity to have their hair immortalized in a massive sculpture constructed by Chinese conceptual artist Wenda Gu.
On June 1, the Hood will host a "hair drive" in Novack Cafe, where student barbers will provide free haircuts for their fellow students, then bagging the excess hair and sending it off to Shanghai where Gu and his assistants will labor on turning it into a work of art.
Gu intends to finish the sculpture approximately a year from now, after which it will be shipped back to Dartmouth and installed in the main hall of Baker Library for several months.
"This is a chance for Dartmouth students to become a part of art history," Jennifer Peterson '06, a senior public relations intern at the Hood who helped organize the project, said. "This sort of thing is going to show up in textbooks in the future."
Peterson explained that the sculpture is Gu's latest in a series of "hair art" from around the world. The artist has been constructing massive hair sculptures in more than 20 different countries over the past few decades, as part of a worldwide project he calls "united nations."
According to Peterson, Gu eventually intends to interweave all his hair monuments into a massive globe in the center of New York City, representing the unity of the global community.
"The fact that this project is being done all over the world makes it so spectacular and special that Dartmouth gets to be a part of it," Peterson said, noting that Dartmouth is the only college campus to be included in Gu's work so far.
Juliette Bianco '94, the assistant director of the Hood Museum in charge of the project, explained that Gu's interest in Dartmouth grew out of a prior relationship with Brian Kennedy, the recently appointed director of the Hood.
"When [Kennedy] arrived this past August, he told me that he knew Wenda quite well and that he had done a large hair installation in the place he used to work at," Bianco said. "We thought immediately, 'Wouldn't it be fabulous to get him to come do his work here at Dartmouth?'"
According to Bianco, the Hood brought Gu to the campus to speak at a symposium during Winter term.
"We showed Wenda the library when he was here, and he was immediately intrigued by the idea of creating a work there," she recalled.
The installation of Gu's sculpture in Baker Library will be accompanied by a publication that the Hood intends to put out, which will include the history of the artist's work as well as Dartmouth students' thoughts about the cultural significance of their hair. The Hood is also producing a student-made documentary about the project.
"We'll be asking students at the 'hair drive' if we can interview them about their hair, so that we can get kind of a cross-cultural perspective," Bianco said, adding that the event was part of a new initiative by the Hood to bring art outside of the museum and into the student community.
Jessica Tory '06 is one of many students who plans to brave the inexperienced scissors of her peers in the hope of seeing her hair aestheticized for posterity.
"When I first heard about it, it sounded like such a weird idea," Tory said. "I mean, art out of hair? I guess it's unique, in kind of a creepy way."
Despite her initial trepidation about the concept, Tory seems excited about the prospect of donating her hair to an artistic cause.
"Hopefully I can go to an art gallery in New York City someday and say 'That's my hair!'" she said. "It's going to be so cool."
As for the prospect of putting her gorgeous brown locks at the mercy of untrained stylists, Tory admitted that she's "more than a little nervous," but insisted that she's willing to undergo the risk given the importance of the project.
"It's such a great opportunity. I mean, this guy is like the Monet of hair," she said.
The more I learned about this sculpture, the more I began to wonder: Why hair? Am I a philistine for failing to grasp the aesthetic qualities of this filamentous mammalian outgrowth? I suppose it's cheaper than paint, but doesn't it come with a higher risk of lice?
"Hair is similar to skin color or eye color in that it's part of your heritage," Peterson said. "It's like a symbol of your culture."
"You can know very little about this project and still understand what [Gu] is trying to do with it. It's about the imagery of the interwoven community, represented by hair. It's supposed to show that we're all connected in some way."
Bianco agreed, calling Gu's project "a work of idealism" and adding that "his long-term goal is to bring the world together through hair."
Dartmouth students interested in donating their hair to Gu's cause can drop by the hair drive in Novack from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday.
Participants will receive free refreshments and a pin stating their contribution -- think of it as an "I Gave Blood" sticker with a better story behind it. Students who want to help out, but don't feel like getting a full haircut can choose to donate as little as a lock or two of their hair as well.
So even if you're one of those people who protects the sanctity of their 'do with a passion, you can still contribute to an artistic work that will doubtless be remembered for years to come. And who knows, if you stop by at the right time, you might just spot yours truly getting a trim.
