The Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma has recently purchased artist Skip Hill’s ‘Beauty Shop Aria’ for the museum’s permanent collection. A number of Skip Hill’s artworks have been featured in the Philbrook Museum’s groundbreaking exhibition ‘From The Limitation of Now’, a showcase of contemporary African-American artists produced in commemoration of the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre. ‘From The Limitation of Now’ directly addresses Tulsa’s problematic history while working towards a more hopeful and just future. ‘Beauty Shop Aria’ is Skip Hill’s homage to the entrepreneurial spirit of African American women in Greenwood as represented by Mabel Little.

Mabel Little was the owner of Little Rose Beauty Salon, located in the heart of the business district in Greenwood. When she left the black township of Boley, Oklahoma for Tulsa, she had a total of one dollar and fifty cents in her pocket. For the first few years, Mabel cleaned motel rooms and saved her money. By 1915, she started washing, straightening and waving hair, a skill she learned from her aunt.

Soon, her shop was filled with customers, especially on Thursdays, because that night was “Maid’s Night Out” in Greenwood. All the young ladies who worked in White homes during the week, looked forward to Thursday night when they could strut their stuff down Greenwood Avenue. Mabel made it much easier for them when they climbed into her chair to get her magic touch.

Mabel Little lost her beauty parlor, her and her husband’s restaurant next door and some rental property as a result of the rioting and destruction of Greenwood by a mob of angry white Tulsans over the Memorial Day weekend in 1921.

 ‘Beauty Shop Aria’ is a large-scale mixed-media work that depicts the intimate interaction between hairstylist and client within the interior of a contemporary black haircare salon, presenting a glimpse into the history and cultural vitality these spaces represent in the African American community.

In the foreground of the image a young woman draped in a patterned salon cape is seated in a seafoam green salon chair with her back to the viewer. The second woman who appears to be the hair stylist, is prominently positioned in the middle ground of the picture plane. Her towering figure spans nearly the entire length of the artwork from top to bottom, casually stylish in a pink camouflage patterned top with ‘GAP’ embroidered on the front, and light pink jeans with a white Gucci belt. She wears her own hair in a natural style as she slowly turns the chair to inspect the freshly braided hair that she has spent hours twisting into place. The stylist is captured in the moment she glances through her designer glasses; pausing as if another client has just entered the salon, or someone has called her name from across the room.

The salon interior is organized over a background of horizontal planes with shifting perspectives, contrasting textures, and varied media techniques.

For example, a partial view of the shop’s hand-painted window signage is mirrored in the upper right portion of the scene. The pastel aqua, painted with an acrylic matte finish, contrasts against the glossy gold lettering; allowing outdoor light into the room while providing a cool balance to the warmer tones found throughout the rest of the artwork. Juxtaposed in the upper left portion of the artwork, glittery gold wallpaper with geometric designs decorate the walls.  

Images of vintage and contemporary black hair care products collected from advertising  and online sources, are collaged over a black and gold silk tapestry covering the stylist’s workstation, creating a patchwork of colors and dense visual texture across the middle of the picture plane.

 Beneath the stylist’s workstation the checkerboard floor of linoleum tiles in contrasting gold and bronze transitions the viewer’s gaze into the lower portion of the artwork which depicts a rubber floor mat covered with a carpet of roses strewn about the base of the salon chair… and at the feet of the image’s central figure.

 Beauty shops hold a unique place in the lives of Black women. Whether they need kanekalon hair to complete a set of box braids, tracks to finish a sew-in weave, or something to sleek down their edges, it’s one of the few spaces where Black women and their beauty needs aren’t an afterthought. Often, it’s where the best ideas for new hairstyles brew; where exchanging product recommendations or hair-care tips with other customers can change your mood around a certain technique or style; a one-stop shop for all things Black hair and black beauty.

‘Beauty Shop Aria’ 2020, Mixed-mediums, acrylic paints, opaque inks, latex gloss enamel, hand-cut and digitally created collage elements, resin on birch panel. Dimensions: 48”w x 84”h x 1.5”d

Philbrook Museum of Art is an art museum with expansive formal gardens located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The museum, which opened in 1939, is located in a former 1920s villa, "Villa Philbrook", the home of Oklahoma oil pioneer Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve. Showcasing nine collections of art from all over the world, and spanning various artistic media and styles, the cornerstone collection focuses on Native American art featuring basketry, pottery, paintings and jewelry.