Adjustable Wall Bra
Vito Acconci
American, 1940–2017
1990-91
Vito Acconci's Adjustable Wall Bra is an installation made from plaster, steel, canvas, lighting, and audio that enlarges a domestic undergarment into a mechanical, adjustable sculpture to examine intimacy, display, and control.
Two monumental, softly lit plaster ‘cups’ sit cradled in a skeletal steel bra frame and suspended by cables, their rounded white volumes and taut metal lines creating an uncanny mix of vulnerability, absurdity, and industrial tension.
By turning a private garment into an architectural, performative object, Acconci extends conceptual art into the spatial and gendered politics of the body, opening ways for artists to use scale and metaphor to stage social critique.
Medium
Plaster, steel, canvas, light, lightbulbs, and audio equipment
Dimensions
Overall installation dimensions variable 13' 9" x 17' 4" x 13' 6" (424.1 x 530.8 x 416.5 cm), each cup 7' 3" x 7' 10 1/2" x 37" (221 x 240 x 94 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Sid R. Bass Fund and purchase
Accession
91.1991
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
