BY PATRICK TIMOTHY MULLIKIN

ue Higby, executive director of Barre's Studio Place Arts, says she got her hair cut recently in honor of SPA's current exhibit — "Hair: A show of art made from or inspired by hair." The unusual exhibit runs through Sept. 23. An opening reception is scheduled at 5:30 p.m., Friday.

"You can see landscape painting anywhere (right upstairs, it turns out). We offer the alternative," she says, pointing to the first-floor gallery.

And what an alternative.

On display are some 30 works by both area artists and artists from across the country: photographs, jewelry made from felted human and cat hair, a vintage Helene Curtis hair dryer from a salon with the words "I Feel Pretty" spelled in wooden matches. Higby suggests the matches might represent the symbolic pain a woman undergoes to look good. Possibly.

This is no ordinary exhibit. Not by a long shot. The breadth of media and the execution of ideas are as varied as, well, heads of hair.

Some of the works are serious, others whimsical, as is the case with a piece by New Jersey artist Gary Lindgren. His "Hairstyle #3" uses an old beauty salon photo upon which he has glued hundreds of plastic ants. Somehow this looks right, as if the woman in the photo should have a head of ants.

Burlington artist W. David Powell's "Wigs, Theme & Variation" emulates the look of an 18th century engraving but with his own offerings of conservative and flamboyant powdered wigs. Fellow Burlington artist Maea Brandt's "Japanese Hair" combines copper plate etching with digital transfers.

Cabot artist Janet Van Fleet's "Hair Baubles" is made from her own hair and is meant to be worn as a necklace.

"It's amazing how much importance we place on dead cells," Higby says of hair. She calls the show a pleasant miracle, a modern approach to using hair. Community members are invited to bring in photos of their favorite haircutting establishment to include in a collage also on display.

Not to be outdone, SPA's second-floor gallery features the exhibit "T-Shirt: Different takes on an American icon," which offers some two dozen two- and three-dimensional interpretations of the T-shirt.

None is meant to be worn, especially Montpelier artist Gabrielle Dietzel's "Wasp Shirt" that incorporates real wasp nests in its design. Two shirts look like they could be worn in a pinch, however: Northfield Falls artist Robin LaHue's "Tea Shirt" that's made from real tea bags, and Waterbury artist Axel Stohlberg's "Dark Venti w/Soy," a strange piece made from coffee filters.

Materials used in the T-shirt display include bubble wrap, glass, copper wire, burdock burrs, buttons and copper wire.

Higby's own contribution, "Icon2," is a wink to Andy Warhol – a Campbell's tomato soup can label cut in the shape of a T-shirt with an attached can opener.

Up on the third floor, the offering is more down to earth. The exhibit is by a group known as the "Small Point Artists," and includes works by Candy Barr, Karen Becker, Alexandra Bottinelli, Ayn Baldwin Riehle, Gail Salzman and Janet Van Fleet. The artists gather annually near Small Point, Maine; and this, according to Van Fleet, is their first showing. Her own work incorporates natural elements, such as driftwood, stones and bones. Although coastal landscape paintings seem to dominate the exhibit, the varied media and styles keep it interesting

This exhibit is in sharp contrast to the other two, but somehow all three exhibits work off one another.

Studio Place Arts is located at 201 N. Main Street in Barre. All galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m., Saturday. For information, call (802) 479-7069 or email www.studioplacearts.com The SPA building is fully accessible.



Patrick Timothy Mullikin is a regular contributor to Vermont Sunday Magazine