Fusebox’s Ron Berry interviewed Ava Verity & Jenna Winter From Mammalian Diving Reflex (MDR) over beers about Haircuts as well as MDR’s other work with children and adults.
Ron: Talk a little about the origins of Haircuts By Children.
MDR: Darren [Mammalian Diving Reflex Artistic Director] was at a conference and a little bored, so he went wandering. He wanted to get a haircut, and saw a pair of scissors nearby, so he asked a kid that was around if he would cut his hair. The kid initially refused, but Darren persisted telling the kid, “Its ok, I give you permission.” That interaction between the kid and Darren sparked a lot of questions about the limitations we put on kids, and therefore the limitations they put on themselves.
The piece is political. The limitations we place on kids have broad impact and it translates to voting. After 18 years of being out of the loop, explicitly told their opinions don’t count, we give them a voting card and expect them to pay attention and be engaged. Haircuts are a good metaphor for examining this dynamic, placing adults’ heads in the hands of children. If we ask people, ‘What scares you more? Letting kids vote or getting your hair cut by a kid?’ most would say its the haircut.
Ron: Tell me a little about your experience with taking this project all over the world.
MDR: The thing that amazes me is that people actually sign up and come to get their hair cut by a child. People always come, and they love it. It’s amazing to see a community come together.
What do we, as a society, do to facilitate trust between children and adults? We push “stranger danger” all the time, which actually makes it harder for kids to be able to go to adults with their issues or questions. Projects like Haircuts allows for an inter-generational connection in the community.
A guy came to get his hair cut in Prague and brought sweets for the kids. The adults who were present immediately questioned his motives. But he was just being nice, he left his email and phone number. Activities like this build trust between adults and children and increase the number of people in a community who know and will look out for the well being of young people. Kids are smart people, they are often more creative and brave than adults. The fairy tale of innocent, unknowing, children is misplaced. They have more to offer.
There was the one kid who was small, quiet, and less social, but really took to the hair cutting. Normally the kids work in pairs, but he worked solo. He had such focus and attention to detail that when he was cutting this woman’s hair he drew in all the other people in the salon. They all stopped what they were doing and watch him and when he finished the room broke into applause.
The confidence of the kids grows so much in just 2 days of working in the salon. They went from cutting a small amount, and being very slow and timid, to total ownership of the project at all levels. When you give them an opportunity like this they are hesitant at first, but after they do it, they believe in themselves.
There is always at least one band-aid required and it is often just a kid nicking their own finger. The kids take it really seriously, they know its a big responsibility. They don’t want to disappoint. When they make a mistake, they are encouraged to be creative, but the mistakes usually come in the execution of the kids own ideas. There isn’t any “wrong” in their creative choices.
Ron: How does this project fit in the context of other MDR work?
MDR: There are other projects with themes of trust, children’s rights, putting children and adults in social situations the wouldn’t normally be in together. Darren calls this work “Stealth Pedagogy.”
Mammalian Diving Reflex developed this project called These Are The People in Your Neighborhood. It was inspired by research in a book by Warwick Cairns (How to Live Dangerously: Why We Should All Stop Worrying and Start Living) that says, statistically, if you left your kid on a street corner it would take 200,000 years for them to be abducted; 600,000 years for them to be abducted for more than 24 hours, and several million years for them to be murdered. The book also notes that it is actually far more dangerous to leave children at home with family (the vast majority of child-murders happen at home and the killers are more often parents, relatives or family friends). So in the project, the kids go around the neighborhood meet business owners, restaurant owners, and neighbors. Then they offer walking tours around the neighborhood for adults. It builds community.
We have a project called Children’s Choice Awards where a group of kids are given VIP treatment at an arts festival, red carpet – everything, and get to see all the work at the festival. They then develop their own awards and put on their own awards show as part of the festival.
Eat the Street is similar to Children’s Choice. The kids act as restaurant critics, they eat at 10 restaurants with adults. The adults tend to be more generous and forgiving with children present (less sending back of food, less complaining to waiters) because they are having a good time. The adults become more receptive to the situation. Kids force you to be authoritarian or an anarchist. There is no middle ground. They force you to choose.
Ron: What about your work not dealing with children?
MDR: The Best Sex I’ve Ever Had works with adults over 65 talking about their sex lives now and throughout their lives. There is a huge communication gap between the old and young in regard to sexuality. We innately cringe at the thought, and try to ignore it, but there is a wealth of knowledge, experience, and ideas from the older generation. It’s amazing and interesting but no one is talking about it. Each single person has such an interesting story to tell about sex and love, but the story is not being told inter-generationally. Not just sex, but for example we have heard remarkable stories about growing up as a homosexual in the mid and early 20th century. There are stories not being told. That door is shut. Hammered shut.
Another Project was Floating Curator. The concept was simple: Darren drafted an airtight contract that required a curator (Christine Shaw) to spend an hour- and-a-half per day for five days in August floating in the shallow end of Toronto’s Alexandra Park outdoor pool, approaching children and becoming their friends. Grades were assigned for – among other things – participation, convincing the kids to take her photo, time spent with the children outside the confines of the
pool area and connecting with kids of different races. If Christine did not achieve a grade of 50% or more, she had to remove all traces of the project from her website and accompanying material and, when referencing the project, she had to declare: “Children do not exist.”
Ron: I love that your work raises lots of interesting questions about the public sphere–it’s such a complex, often loaded area.
MDR: Yes, its a door that art can open, and look at what is acceptable to change or examine in a community. In 2006 the blackouts all over the east coast also provided a lot of inspiration for these projects. For example, in Toronto, people were walking home together because the subway was not working. They were talking to each other and experiencing communities they usually miss. Its amazing how that one event really changed the social dynamic.