Remember “Wooly Willy” – the toy in which a magnetized pen is used to give a bald guy some much-needed facial hair?
Well, Wooly Willy is alive and well in Hudson County. Forty-year-old Roger Sayre of Jersey City recently offered to shave his six-month-old beard and sell it to the winning bidder on eBay.
Sayre, who teaches photography at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y., works in the medium of conceptual art. He got the idea for his latest project after attending a presentation given by a fellow art professor who directed a panel of artists who use Internet auction site eBay.com as their medium.
While eBay usually offers more tangible commodities, such as vintage clothing and collectibles, these artists posted more abstract items.
“There were people selling their ‘blackness’ on eBay,” says Sayre. “One guy sold a performance.”
It all started when …
The usually clean-shaven Sayre decided to grow a beard for six months, then offer it for sale, with the highest bidder earning the right to decide which style of facial hair Sayre will wear once he shaves it.
Sayre posted his advertisement on eBay.com on May 26 under the heading, “Shave my Beard for Art. Real Life ‘Wooly Willy.'” He placed the ad under the category “Weird Stuff,” with a starting bid of $4.99.
“I wasn’t as interested in selling it as seeing how many viewers it would get,” says Sayre. “I wanted to see if anybody would be willing to go out on a limb and bid on it.”
Sold for $329, but … Sayre’s eBay posting got 90 visitors on its first day alone.
“I remember we were really excited when it hit 100,” Sayre says. ‘”Then, it hit 1,000.”
By the time the auction closed nine days later, there were a total of 53 bids, with a winning bid of $329.99 – a shock to Sayre, who was stunned that people had even managed to find his auction among the thousands of items on the site.
According to eBay regulations, the highest bidder is expected to contact the seller within a few days. The winning bidder, whose real name does not appear on eBay, hasn’t contacted Sayre or responded to Sayre’s e-mails since placing the $329.99 bid.
Sayre checked the bidder’s “feedback level,” which serves as an indication of how many items the person has previously bought and sold. Customers are encouraged to leave comments about the person, with negative feedback resulting in a lower rating. The rating of Sayre’s highest bidder was “-1,” indicating that his previous eBay transactions were less than satisfactory.
After doing some research, Sayre discovered that the alleged culprit was a disgruntled high school student from Virginia, who allegedly was using a former teacher’s personal information to place bogus bids on eBay to give the teacher a bad online reputation.
Took it on the chin
“I’m sure I’m not going to get the money for it,” Sayre says. ‘”I took a gamble, and it didn’t work.”
Now, Sayre can offer the beard to someone else if the bidder doesn’t pony up the dough. The second-highest bidder, referred to by Sayre as “Fifi,” has indicated that she is very interested in purchasing the beard if it becomes available again.
Fifi actually lives on Sayre’s street, but didn’t know him before the bid. She offered him $5 less than the highest bidder.
Achtung, baby
The original high bidder requested that Sayre don an Adolf Hitler-style moustache, prompting Sayre to place some restrictions on the winning design. Along with the Hitler style, Sayre also refused to accept requests for words shaved into the beard, since designs like that would be too intricate for his ordinary electric razor.
The winning bidder will receive “before” and “after” photos of Sayre, his leftover whiskers (if they so choose), and certification from the Jersey City Museum that Sayre’s project is an “official” work of art.
Sayre has donated his work to the museum in the past, and he describes it as a “mini Museum of Modern Art,” conveniently located in Jersey City. Sayre approached the museum’s associate curator Rocio Aranda about the project. Though reluctant at first, Aranda eventually decided to participate.
“She checked with the museum,” Sayre says. “Once they gave her the OK, she was very enthusiastic about it.”
Tepid support from the Missus One person who hasn’t been entirely enthusiastic about Sayre’s project is his wife of seven years, Christy.
“My wife wanted me to shave the whole beard off. She’s looking forward to seeing my whole face again,” Sayre says.
The couple’s 2-year-old daughter Olive may be in for a shock when Daddy’s whiskers suddenly disappear. “I’ve been telling her that I’m going to shave it off,” Sayre says, adding that he wants to have Olive present when he finally shaves, so that she’s not scared by her father’s new appearance.
Sayre’s Web site, www.rogersayre.com, will have photos of his new ‘do once the eBay transaction is completed. However Sayre does not plan to keep the money for himself. He wants to give the money to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, since a relative of his suffers from the disease.
“I wasn’t as interested in the money as seeing how many people would look at it,” he says. “I like playing with the definition of what the parameters of art are.”