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'Talking Art' With Miguel Rosas

Courtesy Miguel Rosas

Miguel Rosas is the owner of both New Style Barbershop and New Style Hair Academy in Moline. He has become well known for his hair portraits in which he shaves the incredible likeness of well-known personalities and cultural icons into the back of customers' heads.

Many of his photos have gone viral, including his images of the Cubs pitcher Jake Arietta, Colonel Sanders, Steve Jobs, Aaron Rodgers, and political figures such as Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama.

Credit Courtesy Miguel Rosas
Miguel Rosas' hair portrait of former Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta

Once an appropriate image is found, he freehand cuts the detailed portrait using his clipper, trimmer, and razor, wielding each like a painter would use a paintbrush or a sculptor use a rasp. Miguel Rosas is an entrepreneur who believes in the fine points of barbering and that his work is an art form. He is a platform artist and educator for Wahl Clippers, educating people around the world how to create sensational styles, and he opened his Hair Academy in Moline in February of 2018.

Listen to our conversation here about how he became interested as a young high school student in becoming a barber, how he creates the amazing portraits that are earning him widespread recognition, and how our digital world is increasingly a platform for visual self-expression.

Miguel's photos can be viewed on his Instagram page.

Carolyn Martin joined WVIK as a host of Talking Art in 2017. A long-time fan of NPR programming with a love of storytelling and all art forms, she is thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with creative people who beautify our community and make the Quad Cities region an even better place to live.