Is Brooklyn ah study Hairdressing

A wall painting of a barber shop, Backstreet at Barataria, Trinidad courtesy of P.D.

This is an eye catcher located off Barataria, Trinidad. The owner of the Barber shop wants you to know that he had his Hairdressing training in a Big City, namely Brooklyn, New York. There, he realized that how elegant, confident and refine you look can take you places such as to this wall. The artist responsible for this motto has executed the barber as a Saga Boy who is decked out in a red polyester suit complemented with black brogue shoes. He posture shows his seductiveness and availability to both women and men to lure them into his shop. Men want to look like him, and woman just want to be with him. His self-assurance is represented by his hand tug at his waist. His personal haircut should have a clean part to finish his look.

His companion, and love of his profession is a seven foot Claes Oldenburg barbering shears. Both are standing in front of a varnish stone wall that shows a specular view of new grand city with its high risers and sky walks, Port of Spain.

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Brooklyn, New York is one of many places in the world of immigration that has deep historical meaning for people of African descent. It represents hope and for many, financial success. The bowels of New York open out every year and spit their inhabitants holding green cards and visa’s back to their islands for carnivals. Only to ingest them again.

The painting on this backstreet barber shop holds in mind all of the meaning associated with such promise. The image is reminiscent of the old fashioned photographs taken during the Harlem Renaissance and our own distant past of the 1950’s, where the elegant black population dressed for success, as opposed to excess today.

Our painter tells us that self assurance is all in a good shave and mark of the head. It causes men to admire and women to perspire with desire. The background of nondescript buildings hark to a metropolis of unknown origin, the foreground with the tree remind you of Central Park, Manhattan or anywhere that urban meets suburban. He is standing in a red,velvet suit with a scissors that flanks him in size, an Andy Warhol or Claes Oldenburg prop that makes clear that the message is all about style,class and polish. – Adele

Pure Elegance – Patti LaBelle

If you asked when this wall painting of a beauty salon was painted, you’ll think the 1980s or early 90s. If you asked who most likely does the painting of the woman portrayed, one would think of the American soul singer, Patti LaBelle.

Who knows, Pure Elegance may not exists but the work of the artist has sustained many years of weathering on a wall on the Eastern Main Road, Trinidad, West Indies. Yet her pose and her nails still retains its elegance.

Street Couture – Some naturally have it

In mythology, hair is a sign of seductive beauty and strength

This is Sheldon, and what this rather tall striking man is showing you is his hair plats which were executed by his girlfriend, a petite yet charming girl. As the couple stood outside of one of the popular bars in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, she explained the process by pointing two feet up to his head. The history of his particular hair style comes simply by comparing a visual of rows of corn in a field, hence, Cornrows. With this specimen, there are rows of plats that are cone shape which extend to the crown. At the forehead, a devision of plats are parted in three which follows the contour of the head, and end at a headband of extended piggy plats.

The art of plating someones hair has a deep cultural root. Between mother and child or grandmother and grandchild. You can just picture a girl who sat between her parent’s legs and stomached the pulls, the grease, the tugs and complaints of not having good hair. More importantly it was the conversations between them both. With Sheldon, he and his girlfriend would have bonded in conversations about their relationship, or perhaps just gossiped about current things, nevertheless it is the human nurturing quality which creates the intimacy. Hair is something people are protective of.

At hair salons for women, to comb-out, treat and plat a braid or weave ones hair takes the entire day, men on the other hand suffer less torture. Sheldon’s cornrows took under two hours to complete, but this excludes extra time he took to finesse himself for the evening. The results gives him a sense of kicking hip pop street style.

A lawnmower cut

Rude’s Gallery…..Where we care about how you look

This one is such a gem that I am sure that I possibly left smoke marks on the page, I was writing so fast. Alright, first of all, this painting is by someone who definitely thinks of himself as an Artist with a capital ‘A’. Secondly, he or she has put their name at the bottom of the painting and they are very pleased with their technical painting skills and belief that they understand human anatomy.The typography is out of this world! Is the artist assuming that it will be read? Rude’s Gallery for the best in barbering and hairdressing then inside the frame, Rude’s Gallery and in quotes,” Where we care about how you look.” RG is serious! Can’t you see the initials on the front of his apron? It is the only part that is not affected by folds. But did he or she care about how the sign really looks? I cannot get over the person in the barber’s chair brown knuckling his way through a haircut that looks more like a lawnmower cut than something that is being handled skilfully. But not only the client is grimacing, the barber is also biting his lower lip, but then that may concentration, and in that case, I’m sorry dear Artist for poking fun at that. That is likely genuine. – Adele

A wall paintings of Barbering shop, note the detail such as the blue apron, Diego Martin, Trinidad, West Indies.

The Knight and I

As images go this one is up there in the shaking ones head with wonder signage. A knight is stabbing with a Barber’s shears at the hair of a woman, lopping off several inches of it. I recall seeing Sesame Street’s version of Rapunzel. That was funny and endearing. This image is also endearing in its own way. Thought had to go into calling your establishment Hair Knights. Exactly why is unclear to me. But I like that the hair knights wear full armour including capes to do their job. I suppose that to cut hair is a swash buckling affair. I can just imagine all of the planning and preparation that went into the typography and the image. The people involved thought about their wanting to attract attention. But what kind? This is a small business on the Eastern Main Road, Trinidad, West Indies so people glance over at this sign without even realizing what it actually is. – Adele

A small hair salon on the Eastern Main Road, Trinidad, West Indies giving less attention to the typography and more to the painting of the Knight and his client.

Real Prosperity In Barbering

Sharp as a scissors – Daddy ow

A painting of a hair clipper and crew cut on the wall of Prosperity Barber Salon, Eastern Main Road, Trinidad and Tobago while inside, Sharp trims a boy’s head as his father ignores his antics.

Sharp runs this barbering salon and says he’s been in business since 1995. Prosperity Barber Salon is famous because politicians, media personalities and celebrities come in frequently to get their hair trimmed. Clients he says include Patrick, namely, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

So what is so special about this place? The name of cause, Prosperity. And as for Patrick, Sharp keeps to his profession with some small talk as the Security Service keeps an eye through those unusual dark windows. Who knows what is discussed behind closed doors besides being # one.

SMITTY’s – a typical beauty sign

“Cut meh hair like in the picture”, Eastern Main Road, Trinidad, West Indies

This is a typical sign in Trinidad and Tobago. In fact we are going to do many of them to look at typography, illustration and layout design (or lack of). What I like about many signs is where they are placed. You can tell that this one is on the side of a rum shop. In the distance you can see a plastic banner for an alcoholic beverage. These plastic banners became popular for advertising and came to my attention in 2002 during elections.The Sans Serif text for Smithy’s and the rest of the text above the people tells us that the artist was aware of prominence for the sign. I could hear Smithy, or as we say of a name like this, Smitty, saying, ‘Yes, Ah want de name big.” He wants us to know that Smithy is professional and unisex. Now here is the rub, Smithy’s unisex salon shows two paintings of a man and a woman whose hair looks at a glance pretty much the same.

The artist has tried to do what he can, adding earrings on the woman, making her outfit fussy around the neck and even given her makeup. Never easy to do with household paint. But then I also find the text underneath the portraits a bit odd, it does not say specializing in but specialized in? Smithy does not have to know anything more in hairdressing? Maybe he should put some more credentials next to his name? All the specialities are in a variety of colours and the Itallic type style is hard to read sometimes. But for many small business people who ask for signage and print advertising this ‘wedding’ type style is a favourite and shall not be going away anytime soon. – Adele