CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess) – Cynthia Albritton or Cynthia Plaster Caster, the artist known for casting the erect penis of famous rock stars like Jimi Hendrix, died. She passed away Thursday (April 21) after a long illness, as confirmed by her representative to numerous media outlets.
Born in Chicago in 1947, Albritton – a self-described “recovering groupie,” the artist began casting the phallus’ of famous musicians in 1968. Her art evolved, and she eventually added females by casting breasts, inclusive of her own. She started her career by making a cast using a dental mold-making substance called alginate, which solidified around the subject’s body part. The cast would slide off as the body part, um, deflated. Jimi Hendrix was her first, and perhaps most famous, cast.
Her collection included the Hendrix as mentioned above, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, and female breasts from Sally Timms of the Mekons, Peaches, and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with many others. Her total collection reached over 50 plaster phalluses.
Eccentric artist Frank Zappa liked Albritton’s art. Though he never participated himself, he supported her endeavor. She moved from Chicago to Los Angeles and found more than enough subjects ready to be cast and even more assistants willing to help her subjects, ahem, “get ready.”
As reported by Variety, Albritton’s apartment was robbed in 1971, and she entrusted her collection to Zappa’s business partner, Herb Cohen. No casts were made between 1971 and 1980, and then in 1993, she had to sue Cohen in a court of law to get her collection returned to her, getting all of them but three back.
Her life and career were chronicled in the 2001 documentary Plaster Caster, and she participated in the 2005 documentary My Penis and I. She has been mentioned in many rock songs — including Kiss’ “Plaster Caster,” Jim Croce’s “5 Quick Minutes”, and Le Tigre’s “Nanny Nanny Boo Boo” — and a television conversation between her and the group the GTOs was included on their 1969 album, Permanent Damage.
Albritton is one part artist, one part groupie, and ten parts total rock and roll. What a life lived. RIP
