The art of Barbering

Whether it becomes a major fashion statement this summer is anybody’s guess, but the next big thing in Men’s barbering, after the buzz of the Buzz cut and the pomp of the Pompadour, could well be a bit more art for art’s sake.

A Barcelona mad supporter – or perhaps a mad Barca supporter, spent nearly three hours having Neymar’s face shaved into the back of his head, just ahead of the recent Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich.

The fan, Luis Fernando, 15, asked skilled Brazilian barber, Nariko, to produce the piece of art at his barber shop just outside Sao Paulo.

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A barber’s work “is art too”

Nariko is no stranger to producing ‘hair art’, having reproduced images ranging from Jesus Christ to Snoop Dogg. Nariko has even taken his art a stage further by reproducing ‘old masters’ such as Leonardo Da Vinci and his biblical masterpiece, The Last Supper.

According to Nariko, “Just like there are pictures and paintings and it is called art, our work is art too.”

American barber, Rob The Original, AKA Rob Ferrel, was working in a barbershop in Texas eight years ago when local kids starting requesting hair art, then gradually they started asking for more complex hairstyles.

“At first it was simple patterns and designs, but now if they bring me any image I can replicate it in their hair”, says Rob.

Rob’s toolkit includes standard barber clippers and razors, but also coloured eyeliner for the finishing touches. “I create every shape and shade on the portrait – like a puzzle,” he adds.

“You can only do so much with hair, so the eyeliner perfects the picture and makes it look realistic.”

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Let’s keep it Surreal

Today Rob is a professional hair artist and founder of Rob the Original Barbershop in San Antonio. He has produced portraits of the late Robin Williams, Edward Scissorhands – of course, and surrealist artist Salvador Dali.

Speaking of surrealists, Pablo Picasso’s, Women of Algiers has just become the most expensive painting ever sold at auction.

Going for a cool £102.6m at Christie’s in New York, it has been described as a ‘vibrant, cubist depiction of nude courtesans’ and is part of a 15-work series created in 1954-55.

According to Philip Hoffman, founder and CEO of the Fine Art Fund Group, “it’s one of the most exciting pictures that we’ve seen on the market for 10 years.”

To mark the occasion we thought we would produce our own Women of Algiers.

Kings Barbers Club – the art of traditional barbering.