Cynthia Plaster Caster (born Cynthia Dorothy Albritton; May 24, 1947 – April 21, 2022) was an American visual artist and self-described "recovering groupie" who gained fame for creating plaster casts of celebrities' erectpenises.
Albritton began her career in 1968 by casting penises of rock musicians. She later expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other types of artists, eventually amassing a collection of 50 plaster phalluses.[1] In 2000, she added casting female artists' breasts.
Albritton was born in Chicago.[2][3] Shy as a young girl, Albritton sought out a way to make contact with the opposite sex. In the late 1960s, she became caught up in free love and rock music. Albritton studied at the University of Illinois Chicago.[3][4] In college, when her art teacher gave the class an assignment to "plaster cast something solid that could retain its shape", she hit upon the idea of casting erect male genitalia, which would then go flaccid and exit the mold. Finding a dental mold-making substance called alginate to be sufficient, she found her first celebrity client in Jimi Hendrix, the first of many to submit to the idea.[5]
Meeting Frank Zappa, who found the concept of "casting" both humorous and creative as an art form (though he himself had no interest in submitting to the procedure), Albritton found in him something of a patron. He moved her to Los Angeles, which she described as a veritable groupie heaven, with no lack of willing assistants eager to prepare the subjects for casting. In 1971, after her apartment was burgled, Zappa and Albritton decided the casts should be preserved for a future exhibition, entrusting them to Zappa's legal partner, Herb Cohen, for safekeeping. The exhibition idea did not take off however due to a sudden lack of rock stars willing to participate. She made no casts between 1971 and 1980. After years of wrangling, Albritton found herself in 1993 having to go to court in order to retrieve the 25 casts Cohen held (she got all but three of them back).[6][7] In 2000, Albritton finally held her first exhibition of the casts in New York City. She also decided to begin casting women's breasts as an egalitarian move.[8]
In 2001, a film documentary, Plaster Caster, was made about her. She also contributed to the BBC Three documentary My Penis and I (2005), made by British filmmaker Lawrence Barraclough about his anxiety over his 9 cm (3+1⁄2-inch) erect penis.[9] She has inspired at least two songs: "Five Short Minutes" by Jim Croce and "Plaster Caster" by Kiss. She is also mentioned in Momus' song "The Penis Song" on his album Folktronic and the Le Tigre song "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo".[10] In 1969, Pamela Des Barres, of Frank Zappa's group The GTOs, recorded a telephone conversation with Cynthia from Chicago for the GTOs album Permanent Damage.
00029 Cynthia Plaster Caster (self) (May 26, 2013), artist
00030 Cynthia Plaster Caster (self) (May 26, 2013), artist
00031 Cynthia Plaster Caster (self) (May 26, 2013), artist
00032 Cynthia Plaster Caster (self) (May 26, 2013), artist
00033 Jan Terri (December 15, 2013), singer/songwriter
00034 Jan Terri (December 15, 2013), singer/songwriter
See alsoedit
Drive-Away Dolls, a 2024 film with a fictionalized version of Plaster Caster who molded dildos from the penises of future business tycoons and politicians
Referencesedit
^"Meet the Groupie Who Made Plaster Casts Out of Rock Music's Most Famous Penises". November 2017.
^ abElejalde-Ruiz, Alexia (October 31, 2010). "Cynthia Plaster Caster Runs for Chicago Mayor", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
^ abcGenzlinger, Neil (April 28, 2022). "Cynthia Albritton, 74, the Michelangelo Of Immortalizing Male Rockers' Genitals". The New York Times. p. B12. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
^Hutchinson, Kate (April 25, 2022). "Cynthia Plaster Caster: the artist whose rock star penis sculptures asked big questions about manhood". The Guardian.
^Cynthia Plaster Caster: Art with Staying Power November 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, a Salon interview
^Philips, Chuck (April 13, 1993). "Plaster Caster Lawsuit Set for Court Wednesday". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
^Wallechinsky, David; Amy D. Wallace; Ira Basen; Jane Farrow (2006). The book of lists: the original compendium of curious information (Canadian ed.). Toronto: Seal Books. pp. 355–356. ISBN9780307366177.
^Albritton, Cynthia official website The Long and the Short of It Retrieved September 20, 2008 Requires Flash
^"Has your penis been short-changed?". Metro. October 3, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
^Costello, Brian (November 4, 2010). "Q&A with Mayoral Candidate Cynthia Plaster Caster", Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
^Natawan, Grace Ann (April 21, 2022). "Cynthia Albritton, Known As Cynthia Plaster Caster, Dies At 74". Spin. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
^Koe, Crystal (May 25, 2022). "Plaster Cast of Jimi Hendrix's Penis to be Unveiled at Iceland's Phallological Museum: All in the name of Phallology". Guitar.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
^. Archived from the original on December 16, 2001.
cynthia, plaster, caster, born, cynthia, dorothy, albritton, 1947, april, 2022, american, visual, artist, self, described, recovering, groupie, gained, fame, creating, plaster, casts, celebrities, erect, penises, borncynthia, dorothy, albritton, 1947, 1947chic. Cynthia Plaster Caster born Cynthia Dorothy Albritton May 24 1947 April 21 2022 was an American visual artist and self described recovering groupie who gained fame for creating plaster casts of celebrities erect penises Cynthia Plaster CasterBornCynthia Dorothy Albritton 1947 05 24 May 24 1947Chicago Illinois U S DiedApril 21 2022 2022 04 21 aged 74 Chicago Illinois U S EducationUniversity of Illinois ChicagoKnown forSculpting Albritton began her career in 1968 by casting penises of rock musicians She later expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other types of artists eventually amassing a collection of 50 plaster phalluses 1 In 2000 she added casting female artists breasts Contents 1 Biography 2 List of casts 2 1 Men 2 2 Women 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBiography editAlbritton was born in Chicago 2 3 Shy as a young girl Albritton sought out a way to make contact with the opposite sex In the late 1960s she became caught up in free love and rock music Albritton studied at the University of Illinois Chicago 3 4 In college when her art teacher gave the class an assignment to plaster cast something solid that could retain its shape she hit upon the idea of casting erect male genitalia which would then go flaccid and exit the mold Finding a dental mold making substance called alginate to be sufficient she found her first celebrity client in Jimi Hendrix the first of many to submit to the idea 5 Meeting Frank Zappa who found the concept of casting both humorous and creative as an art form though he himself had no interest in submitting to the procedure Albritton found in him something of a patron He moved her to Los Angeles which she described as a veritable groupie heaven with no lack of willing assistants eager to prepare the subjects for casting In 1971 after her apartment was burgled Zappa and Albritton decided the casts should be preserved for a future exhibition entrusting them to Zappa s legal partner Herb Cohen for safekeeping The exhibition idea did not take off however due to a sudden lack of rock stars willing to participate She made no casts between 1971 and 1980 After years of wrangling Albritton found herself in 1993 having to go to court in order to retrieve the 25 casts Cohen held she got all but three of them back 6 7 In 2000 Albritton finally held her first exhibition of the casts in New York City She also decided to begin casting women s breasts as an egalitarian move 8 In 2001 a film documentary Plaster Caster was made about her She also contributed to the BBC Three documentary My Penis and I 2005 made by British filmmaker Lawrence Barraclough about his anxiety over his 9 cm 3 1 2 inch erect penis 9 She has inspired at least two songs Five Short Minutes by Jim Croce and Plaster Caster by Kiss She is also mentioned in Momus song The Penis Song on his album Folktronic and the Le Tigre song Nanny Nanny Boo Boo 10 In 1969 Pamela Des Barres of Frank Zappa s group The GTOs recorded a telephone conversation with Cynthia from Chicago for the GTOs album Permanent Damage Albritton was a candidate for mayor of Chicago in the 2011 election on the Hard Party ticket 2 11 She is the inspiration for the character Juicy Lucy in Good Girls Revolt whom Patty interviews as a witness to the Altamont riot citation needed Albritton died from cerebrovascular disease at a care facility in Chicago on April 21 2022 aged 74 3 12 Shortly before her death Albritton donated a copy of her 1968 plaster cast of Jimi Hendrix s erect penis to the Icelandic Phallological Museum 13 List of casts editSource 14 Men edit 0002 Joel Coplon February 16 1968 friend 0003 Al Hernandez February 18 1968 friend 0004 Jimi Hendrix February 25 1968 guitarist The Jimi Hendrix Experience 0005 Noel Redding March 30 1968 bass player The Jimi Hendrix Experience 0006 Don Ogilvie May 5 1968 road manager Mandala band 0007 Bob Pridden August 1 1968 road manager and engineer The Who 0008 Eric Burdon September 3 1969 singer The Animals mold failure no cast 0009 Richard Cole November 26 1968 tour manager Led Zeppelin 0010 Dennis Thompson February 26 1969 drummer MC5 0011 Wayne Kramer February 26 1969 guitarist MC5 0012 Frank Cook March 31 1969 drummer Pacific Gas amp Electric band 0013 Fritz Richmond May 12 1969 washtub bass player Jim Kweskin Jug Band 0014 Michael Vestey May 30 1969 record producer 0015 Bob Grant June 5 1969 conservative radio host 0016 Anthony Newley June 7 1969 singer songwriter 0017 Danay West June 11 1969 manager Iron Butterfly never returned by Cohen 0018 Eddie Brigati June 23 1969 singer The Rascals 0019 Barry Bono June 23 1969 road manager The Rascals never returned by Cohen 0020 Harvey Mandel July 10 1969 guitarist 0021 Lee Mallory July 22 1969 singer songwriter 0022 Doug Dillard July 27 1969 banjo player The Dillards mold failure no cast 0023 John Barr July 30 1969 bass player The Churls 0024 Tony Stevens September 7 1969 bass player Foghat Savoy Brown never returned by Cohen 0025 Keef Hartley September 8 1969 drummer Keef Hartley Band others mold failure no cast 0026 Keith Webb September 9 1969 drummer Terry Reid 0027 Bob Henrit April 30 1970 drummer Argent band The Kinks 0028 Zal Yanovsky July 14 1970 singer guitarist The Lovin Spoonful 0032 Aynsley Dunbar September 30 1970 drummer The Mothers of Invention Journey band others 0033 Ricky Fataar October 28 1971 drummer Beach Boys Bonnie Raitt The Rutles 0034 Smutty Smiff Steven Douglas Smith October 12 1980 bass player Levi and the Rockats mold failure no cast 0035 John Smothers November 29 1980 bodyguard Frank Zappa 0036 Ivan Karamazov Howard Jay Patterson June 11 1981 juggler The Flying Karamazov Brothers 0037 Shane Eason January 22 1982 drummer Loverboy 0038 Mary Byker Ian Garfield Hoxley April 16 1988 singer Gaye Bykers on Acid 0039 Jon Langford June 29 1988 singer guitarist The Mekons The Three Johns 0040 Chris Connelly September 8 1988 singer Revolting Cocks Ministry band 0043 Clint Poppie Clint Mansell September 30 1989 singer Pop Will Eat Itself 0044 Terryll Loffler June 30 1990 filmmaker 0045 Brian St Clair February 19 1991 drummer Rights of the Accused Triple Fast Action Local H 0047 Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher April 29 1991 singer Dead Kennedys 0048 Pete Shelley Peter McNeish November 10 1991 singer songwriter guitarist Buzzcocks mold failure no cast 0049 Bart Flores August 8 1993 drummer Wreck band Pigface 0050 Ronnie Barnett August 9 1993 bass player The Muffs 0051 Richard Lloyd May 11 1994 guitarist Television band Matthew Sweet 0052 Mike Diana March 3 1995 cartoonist 0054 Martin Atkins February 21 1996 drummer Public Image Limited Killing Joke Pigface Ministry band Nine Inch Nails 0057 Russ Forster September 29 1997 filmmaker fanzine writer label owner Underdog Records multi instrumentalist with Spongetunnel engineer for Screeching Weasel 0060 Momus Nick Currie February 14 1998 singer songwriter 0062 Jake Shillingford December 18 1999 singer My Life Story 0065 Danny Doll Rod Dan Kroha March 15 2000 guitarist Demolition Doll Rods 0067 Billy Dolan April 2 2000 guitarist Five Style 0069 David Yow August 6 2000 actor singer bassist The Jesus Lizard Scratch Acid 0071 Bobby Conn Jeffrey Stafford January 18 2001 singer songwriter guitarist 0073 Lawrence Barraclough September 26 2004 filmmaker of My Penis and I 0074 Lawrence Barraclough September 26 2004 filmmaker 0075 Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg February 19 2006 singer songwriter 0077 Lias Kaci Saoudi March 20 2014 singer Fat White Family Women edit 00001 Suzi Gardner May 28 2000 singer guitarist L7 00002 Suzi Gardner May 28 2000 singer guitarist L7 00003 Christine Doll Rod Christine Gomoll August 26 2000 drummer Demolition Doll Rods 00004 Christine Doll Rod Christine Gomoll August 26 2000 drummer Demolition Doll Rods 00005 Margaret Doll Rod Margaret Gomoll August 26 2000 singer guitarist Demolition Doll Rods 00006 Margaret Doll Rod Margaret Gomoll August 26 2000 singer guitarist Demolition Doll Rods 00007 Monica BouBou January 18 2001 singer violinist Bobby Conn 00008 Monica BouBou January 18 2001 singer violinist Bobby Conn 00009 Laetitia Sadier January 28 2001 singer keyboardist Stereolab 00010 Laetitia Sadier January 28 2001 singer keyboardist Stereolab 00011 Peaches Merrill Beth Nisker May 9 2001 singer 00012 Peaches Merrill Beth Nisker May 9 2001 singer 00013 Sally Timms May 30 2001 singer The Mekons 00014 Sally Timms May 30 2001 singer The Mekons 00023 Stephanie Barber February 9 2002 artist 00024 Stephanie Barber February 9 2002 artist 00027 Karen O Karen Lee Orzolek May 1 2003 singer Yeah Yeah Yeahs 00028 Karen O Karen Lee Orzolek May 1 2003 singer Yeah Yeah Yeahs 00029 Cynthia Plaster Caster self May 26 2013 artist 00030 Cynthia Plaster Caster self May 26 2013 artist 00031 Cynthia Plaster Caster self May 26 2013 artist 00032 Cynthia Plaster Caster self May 26 2013 artist 00033 Jan Terri December 15 2013 singer songwriter 00034 Jan Terri December 15 2013 singer songwriterSee also editDrive Away Dolls a 2024 film with a fictionalized version of Plaster Caster who molded dildos from the penises of future business tycoons and politiciansReferences edit Meet the Groupie Who Made Plaster Casts Out of Rock Music s Most Famous Penises November 2017 a b Elejalde Ruiz Alexia October 31 2010 Cynthia Plaster Caster Runs for Chicago Mayor Chicago Tribune Retrieved November 18 2011 a b c Genzlinger Neil April 28 2022 Cynthia Albritton 74 the Michelangelo Of Immortalizing Male Rockers Genitals The New York Times p B12 Retrieved April 30 2022 Hutchinson Kate April 25 2022 Cynthia Plaster Caster the artist whose rock star penis sculptures asked big questions about manhood The Guardian Cynthia Plaster Caster Art with Staying Power Archived November 22 2007 at the Wayback Machine a Salon interview Philips Chuck April 13 1993 Plaster Caster Lawsuit Set for Court Wednesday Los Angeles Times Retrieved January 7 2014 Wallechinsky David Amy D Wallace Ira Basen Jane Farrow 2006 The book of lists the original compendium of curious information Canadian ed Toronto Seal Books pp 355 356 ISBN 9780307366177 Albritton Cynthia official website The Long and the Short of It Retrieved September 20 2008 Requires Flash Has your penis been short changed Metro October 3 2007 Retrieved July 27 2015 This Island Media notes Le Tigre Universal Records 2004 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Costello Brian November 4 2010 Q amp A with Mayoral Candidate Cynthia Plaster Caster Chicago Reader Retrieved November 18 2011 Natawan Grace Ann April 21 2022 Cynthia Albritton Known As Cynthia Plaster Caster Dies At 74 Spin Retrieved April 21 2022 Koe Crystal May 25 2022 Plaster Cast of Jimi Hendrix s Penis to be Unveiled at Iceland s Phallological Museum All in the name of Phallology Guitar com Retrieved June 3 2022 home Archived from the original on December 16 2001 External links editCynthia Plaster Caster discography at Discogs nbsp Cynthia Plaster Caster at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cynthia Plaster Caster amp oldid 1209694592, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
