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November 12, 2007 10:14 am
“It’s not actually that outrageous when you talk to them about it,” Johanna Lenander says, referring to the traveling “fantasy hair” showcase that is the subject of the new book she wrote with her husband, photographer David Yellen. But one flip through “Hair Wars” (powerHouse Books), a collection of colorful portraits displaying triumphs in styling (and over gravity), and the definition of outrageous seems entirely subjective. Started in the mid-eighties by party promoter David Humphries (a.k.a Hump the Grinder), the concept of “hair entertainment” has grown from battles at Detroit nightclubs to a national touring event promoting the talent of “hair entertainers.” Here, Yellen tells us what compelled him to capture this specific subculture on film.
What attracted you to Hair Wars in the first place?
I’m essentially attracted to anything that’s a unique subculture—cultural moments that are phasing out. That’s what makes humans unique and I think it’s important to preserve these things. If you take pictures, people will notice them—or at least talk about them.
What about this particular subculture continues to hold your interest?
I like meeting the different hairdressers and figuring out their philosophies, why they do it—some are doing it because they want to push to it to the extreme and some have really intense philosophies about it. Some of the stylists will meditate for a while and they’ll dream up a hairstyle and that’s how they’ll get their inspiration. And I can kind of relate to it because I do that with photographs. Sometimes you just get an idea in your head and go for it.
What is a typical Hair Wars show like?
The shows are combinations of hair and music and dance-offs. I didn’t portray that in the book because I was focusing more on the style, but it gets really crazy. Everything is really themed—like this one look was supposed to be about an angel and the devil, so the two guys who did the style came out on stage dressed as an angel and the devil and started rapping—and there was fire and all!
So there’s definitely a performance element to it too, then?
Oh, definitely.
What is the craziest style you’ve ever seen at one of the shows?
This one stylist, Big Bad D, put a fishbowl with Japanese fighting fish that probably weighed about 50 pounds into this girl’s hair. And while she was walking around, one of the fish kept flopping out onto the runway! The whole thing is like a big crazy fashion show.
And as far as the fashion element is concerned, how do clothes factor into the overall performance?
They all make their own costumes, and every show they put on has a theme. But usually the clothes also involve hair because they like to keep the motif, so it’s like being a bear. They have a show coming up in Detroit called “Dare to Dream”—it’s Martin Luther King-inspired. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone sculpts his head out of hair.
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