Cynthia Plaster Caster
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Plaster Caster whose real name is Cynthia Albritton, is an artist
and self-described "recovering groupie
" who creates plaster cast
s of famous persons' penis
es and breast
s. She began her career in 1968 by casting penises of rock musicians. She later expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other types of artists. By 2000
she had begun casting female artists' breasts.
and rock music. In college, when her art teacher gave the class an assignment to "plaster cast something solid that could retain its shape", her idea to use the assignment as a lure to entice rock stars to have sex with her became a hit, even before she made a cast of anyone's genitalia. Finding a dental moldmaking substance called alginate to be sufficient, she found her first client in Jimi Hendrix
, the first of many to submit to the idea.
Meeting Frank Zappa
, who found the concept of "casting" both humorous and creative as an art form, Albritton found in him something of a patron. He moved her to Los Angeles, California, which she described as a veritable groupie heaven, with no lack of assistants. Together, Zappa and Albritton conceived an idea of preserving the casts of musicians for a future exhibition, entrusting them to his partner, Herb Cohen, for safekeeping. This idea never took off, due to a lack of famous rock stars as participants. A movie was made of Cynthia Plaster Caster, and her celebrity grew. However, she found herself having to file a lawsuit to retrieve the casts. She decided to cast women's breasts as well in 2000.
A film documentary
, Plaster Caster
, has been made about her, and she has inspired at least two songs: "Plaster Caster" by KISS
and "Five Short Minutes" by Jim Croce
. She is also mentioned in the Le Tigre
song "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo."
In 2010 she ran for mayor of Chicago, Illinois
.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and self-described "recovering groupie
Groupie
A groupie is a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a musician or other celebrity. "Groupie" is derived from group in reference to a musical group, but the word is also used in a more general sense, especially in casual conversation....
" who creates plaster cast
Plaster cast
A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – particularly in palaeontology .Sometimes a...
s of famous persons' penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
es and breast
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
s. She began her career in 1968 by casting penises of rock musicians. She later expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other types of artists. By 2000
2000 in art
-Events:*February – Opening of the New Art Gallery Walsall in the West Midlands of England.*13 February – The final original Peanuts comic strip is published, following the death of its creator, Charles Schulz....
she had begun casting female artists' breasts.
Work
Shy as a young girl, Cynthia sought out a way to make contact with the opposite sex. In the mid-1960s she became caught up in free loveFree love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
and rock music. In college, when her art teacher gave the class an assignment to "plaster cast something solid that could retain its shape", her idea to use the assignment as a lure to entice rock stars to have sex with her became a hit, even before she made a cast of anyone's genitalia. Finding a dental moldmaking substance called alginate to be sufficient, she found her first client in Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, the first of many to submit to the idea.
Meeting Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, who found the concept of "casting" both humorous and creative as an art form, Albritton found in him something of a patron. He moved her to Los Angeles, California, which she described as a veritable groupie heaven, with no lack of assistants. Together, Zappa and Albritton conceived an idea of preserving the casts of musicians for a future exhibition, entrusting them to his partner, Herb Cohen, for safekeeping. This idea never took off, due to a lack of famous rock stars as participants. A movie was made of Cynthia Plaster Caster, and her celebrity grew. However, she found herself having to file a lawsuit to retrieve the casts. She decided to cast women's breasts as well in 2000.
A film documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Plaster Caster
Plaster Caster
Plaster Caster is a 2001 documentary about Cynthia Plaster Caster, the legendary groupie who became famous for making plaster casts of rock stars' penises, including Jimi Hendrix's.- Synopsis :...
, has been made about her, and she has inspired at least two songs: "Plaster Caster" by KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
and "Five Short Minutes" by Jim Croce
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
. She is also mentioned in the Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
song "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo."
In 2010 she ran for mayor of Chicago, Illinois
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.