A Show of Support for the Girls
The bra has been shaping women’s bodies for nearly a century, promising to lift, separate, smooth, and enlarge our breasts. Brassieres have changed over time as our expectations about breasts have changed. In 1919 when women got the vote, the brassiere was designed to flatten the breasts, but by the late 1950s when breasts defined femininity, brassieres began to make the breasts appear larger. Since turnabout is fair play, we have come up with some ways to re-define and transform the bra itself.
The ABRAcada-BRA Project is an installation with two components: First it is an exhibit of bras that we have transformed to represent our collective consciousness about breasts and bras, including societal expectations, experiences with maturity, puberty, and childbirth. Some of the bras are narrative, some tongue-in-cheek, some recognize the objectification of the female breasts, some poke fun at the bra itself.
A collection of bras from around the country are hooked together and hung from the walls and ceiling surrounding the brassieres, visually unifying the exhibit and connecting to the larger community of women.
We dedicate this exhibit to women who have experienced breast disease or trauma.
W.H.A.T [Women Heartfully (making) Art Together]
W.H.A.T. Artists
The ABRAcada-BRA Project: A Show of Support for the Girls! is dedicated to women who have suffered breast disease or trauma. Participating in The ABRAcada-BRA Project are the following artists: Dawn Allen, Andrea Baier-Petiet, Ellie Cho, Insoon Felch, Sue Ferrell, Susie Hall, Rebekah Hall, Sandy Kirchinger, Marjorie Oostenburg, Maureen Roslanic, Jeanette Ruthven, Phyllis Schadler, Brenda Sipe, Bonnie Slayton, H.J. Slider, and Suzy Wood. Titles of a few of the more than 25 transformed bras are: "Hope Chest: 100 Years & 1000 Closets", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," "Cupcakes," "BRAss Ensemble," "Underwire Bra," "Swingers."
Artist statement: The bra has been shaping women's bodies for nearly a century, promising to lift, separate, smooth, enlarge, and define our breasts. Since turnabout is fair play, we have come up with some ways to redesign and transform the bra itself. The ABRA-cada-BRA Project is an installation of 25 or more transformed bras surrounded by hundreds of bras collected from around the world, hung from the walls and ceiling, visually unifying the exhibit and connecting to the larger community of women. The transformed bras represent our collective consciousness about breasts and bras, including societal expectations, experiences with maturity, puberty, childbirth. Some of the bras are narrative, some tongue-in-cheek, some recognize the objectification of the female breasts. The sheer number of brassieres presented will engage the viewer and cause her/him to confront their own thoughts about breasts and bras.
About the work:
Title: The ABRAcada-BRA Project: A Show of Support for the Girls
Art form: 3-D
Medium: Installation
Year created: 2009
Description of work: The ABRAcada-BRA Project: A Show of Support for the Girls! is an installation with two components. First it is an exhibit of brassieres that we have transformed which are wall mounted, hung from the ceiling, and displayed on pedestals. Several titles of the bras are: "Hope Chest: 100 Years & 1000 Closets," "BRAss Ensemble," "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," "Transformation of the Feminine," "Cupcakes," "The Multitasker," and "Wacky Tacky Towel Rack".
The second component of the exhibit is a collection of hundreds of bras from around the world which will be hung from the walls and ceiling surrounding the transformed brassieres, visually unifying the exhibit and connecting to the larger community of women. This exhibit is dedicated to women who have experienced breast disease or trauma.
Work statement: The ABRAcada-BRA Project is an installation of transformed bras surrounded by hundreds of bras from around the world. The works represent our collective consciousness about breasts and bras, including societal expectations, experiences with maturity, puberty, childbirth. Some of the bras are narrative, some tongue-in-cheek, some recognize the objectification of the female breasts, some poke fun at the bra itself. The sheer number of brassieres presented will engage the viewer and cause her/him to confront their own thoughts about breasts and bras.
The ABRAcada-BRA Project is showing at Lansing Art Gallery from October 29-November 18!!!! This will be exactly the same group as before. Catherine Babcock is very excited to show our work exactly as it was at ArtPrize and generate some excitement in Lansing. This is a very nice gallery and only 2-3 blocks from the State Capitol. It will be exhibited in the large front window. They would like the pillars too Jeanette. They will do the set up for us. The exhibit will be up for the 1st Sunday Gallery Walk on November 8. She is confident of us getting some nice publicity. Bonnie and I will deliver the work on Wednesday evening October 28. I hope that is ok Bonnie, the gallery picked that date. There is an opening on November 6 that is already scheduled and I think we will be included in that if we want to attend (optional).
[Women Heartfully (making) Art Together] 
