Hairy Business   Images of Man. Part 2   22.05. – 19.09.2021

Hairy Business: Images of Man. Part 2

With a selection of nearly 60 photos, the museum aims to give voice to diverse thoughts on hair and individual hair stories, as well as to question ideals of beauty and gender norms. The exhibition “Hairy Business“ (22 May to 19 September 2021) is presented within the context of the permanent collection and in particular the sculpture gallery “Images of Man“, expanding the representation of the human figure by the small but fine detail of hair.

Measured against common ideals of beauty, every person has somewhere on their bodies too much or too little hair. It is therefore not surprising that, according to surveys, more and more people are declaring war on their body hair and are shaving, epilating, plucking, waxing and sugaring. In art, too, there is a debate about ideals of beauty. However, or precisely because of this, body hair is rarely depicted on certain parts of the body. The works of art from the collection of the Kunsthalle Bremen are no exception.

In the exhibition “The Picasso Connection“, however, the type of body hair that is nowadays often associated with feelings of shame, discomfort or embarrassment can be found after all. The Kunsthalle has taken these depictions as the starting point for a call for photographs dealing with body hair in all its facets and the memories, thoughts or experiences associated with it. In response to the call more than 1.000 photos were submitted. The overwhelming number of photographs not only highlights the relevance of the topic for a wide range of generations, genders and identities. They also reflect the scope of the topic: the stories include humorous, thought-provoking and sad experiences with existing or missing hair – under the armpits, on the stomach, on the legs, in the face or on the head.

Morning in Pink, 2020, photo: Clara Kaltenbacher (FAUL&HÄSSLICH.)

“In some places, armpit hair is like a revolution. Employer X wants to photograph me. For a project. About a famous feminist. I think about shaving the day before. And then I think to myself: Why should I? That's an old chestnut, this body hair; everyone has understood this by now and it's also kind of clear to everyone that sexism sucks. Besides, it's about feminism. So I go to the shoot unshaven. And then suddenly they are to be retouched away. My armpit hair doesn't sell so well. Okay. Crazy. You'd rather tell the hairless, smooth version of a famous feminist's story. For the sale figures. I then dyed my armpit hair pink – out of sadness.“ (Maren Kraus (FAUL&HÄSSLICH.))

Monobrow, 2021, Photo: Max Braun

“For me, my 5-year-old daughter's ‘monobrow’ is her trademark. It reminds me of Frida Kahlo and I would like my daughter to be the same way later on. She is half Iranian and many other Persian girls have them as well. Unfortunately, they are taught at an early age to pluck their eyebrows according to current beauty ideals. For my wife and me, her eyebrows are beautiful the way they are. We try to convey that to her for her future.“ (Max Braun)

Marc, 2018, photo: Melanka Helms

“Every year in a small mountain village in Graubünden, Switzerland, a whimsical event takes place: ‘The Alpine Beard Meeting‘ – a competition for the most beautiful natural full beard. The beard, once considered a symbol of strength and an adornment of masculinity, evolved, especially in the Western world, into an expression of individuality and a fashion statement. You might think it's a new kind of beauty pageant, with all the hip twenty-somethings with their accrued fashion accessories. But that's not true; beards have been judged in Chur for over 30 years. The participants are men of the old guard, connected to local traditions. Most of them are well over 50 years old and often maintain their beards for decades. It's interesting to see how our ideas of masculinity and femininity change over time, especially now that full beards are becoming fashionable again and even in Graubünden you can see some hipsters.“ (Melanka Helms)

Nina nach dem Haarschnitt, o.J., Foto: Matthias Langer

„Manchmal müssen alte Zöpfe ab und ab und an ist es wichtig, auch diesen Moment der Veränderung im Bild festzuhalten. Hier war es offensichtlich so wichtig, dass der Friseurtermin in ein Fotostudio verlegt wurde.“ (Matthias Langer)

Blonde Füße, Fotoserie 2021, Foto: Ninya Lehrheuer

„Ein Blick hinunter an meinem Körper, nicht viel von dem zu finden, wonach ich suche. Rasiert, gewachst, blond. Und dennoch ist klar, dass in dieser Erkenntnis die Relevanz des Themas liegt. Es jedoch viel verlangt ist, sich des tief verinnerlichten Schönheitsideals meiner Sozialisation entgegen zu handeln.  Zu vergessen, wie mich eine etwas ältere Freundin mit 12 Jahren angeekelt darauf hinwies, dass eine Frau kein Haar an ihrem Körper haben dürfe. Ein Blick in den Spiegel verrät jedoch, ich habe Haare, viele, lange, blonde auf dem Kopf. Und dazu gibt es fast so viele Geschichten wie Strähnen. Von Vorurteilen, Unterschätzung, Reduktion, Projektion, Sexismus, Faszination und sexueller Anziehung. Nie vergessen werde ich zum Beispiel den Abend an dem mich ein Mann, bekennender Fuß Liebhaber, vor einer Bar einlud, die ersten ‚blonden Füße‘ in seinem Bett zu sein. Und wieder der Blick hinab. Unverändert. Nicht viel.“ (Ninya Lehrheuer)

Inventory of my Friends‘ Body Hair, 2021, photo: Matias Sauter Morera

“I decided to take portraits of me and my friends, who all have experienced rejection and ‘body-shaming’ inside their gay communities because of body hair (before they moved to Berlin). Originally from Croatia, USA, Chile, Costa Rica and Brazil, they all expressed the feeling of not completely fitting intop the beauty standards of ‘mainstream gay culture’, where overly worked out ‘gym-bodies’ and shaved chests have become a norm of what is thought of as beautiful. Meanwhile in Berlin, they all feel free and attractive. Gay men in Berlin appreciate and look for other types of beauty. Body hair, natural smell and different body shapes can be considered in Berlin’s gay scene as sexually attractive. People in Berlin are in general more open-minded to different concepts of masculinity, gender and sexuality, which also might have a direct effect on how gay men perceive themselves and accordingly how they perceive beauty.” (Matias Sauter Morera)

Peekaboo, 2020, photo: Lorena Schumacher

“Since 2016, I have been suffering from the autoimmune disease Alopecia Areata (circular hair loss). Simplified, this means that my immune system has turned against my hair and is rejecting it. There is now not a single hair left on my body and mentally I have had a very stressful time. In April 2020, I decided to publicly address Alopecia on my Instagram channel (www.instagram.com/anjoulaaa). With this, I would like to encourage in particular other sufferers.“ (Anjoula Hummel)

no name, 2018, Foto: Hassan Sheidaei

„Das Foto zeigt einen männlichen Körper, der sich ungern beobachten lässt:
‚... irgendwie fühle ich mich immer beobachtet, immer hin und her gerissen zwischen meiner Weiblichkeit und diesem männlichen Gesicht,
die Haare mag ich nicht …
irgendwie hasse ich sie,
vielleicht kann ich mich mal befreit fühlen,
vielleicht kann ich euch irgendwann erzählen,
vielleicht …‘“ (Hassan Sheidaei)

So sah 'man' damals aus, 1974, Foto: privat

„Urlaubsreise nach Yugoslawien, hier auf einem Campingplatz. Eigentlich viel zu viel Haare auf dem Kopf für die Temperaturen dort.
Ich trage seit 1971 einen Bart, möchte ihn auch nicht missen.“ (Friedrich Glane)

A selection of the submitted photographs and their stories will be presented in the context of the permanent collection and are juxtaposed in the gallery “Images of Man“ with sculptures of the human figure from the Kunsthalle collection. Although the sculptures on display mostly have hair on their heads, other body hair is depicted rarely. The photographs thus complete the image of the human being and give body hair a visibility.