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It was a tough job - turn a bra into art - but somebody had to do it.

And 40 did.

On Thursday at Martha's Body Bueno, during the Nob Hill Holiday Shop & Stroll, Albuquerque artists will show their stuff, dozens of bras from the playful to the erotic.

There's "Last Call," a bra made of beer caps and chicken wire; "Indulgence," bra cups as swimming pools full of naked men; "Pin Me Up; Kiss Me Sweet," a collage of Hollywood pin-ups; "Amazonian Wonder Bra," made of metal and stained glass; "Training Bra," paper with little wheels; "Women Who Run With the Wolves," a fur bra adorned with jaw bones; "Frida Kahlo," with those unmistakable brows, eyes and braided hair; "C Cup See C Cup," which you have to see; and the - ouch - "Mammogram Bra," no description necessary.

There are bras of velvet, balloons, boxing gloves, Mardi Gras beads, Christmas lights, mesh, butterflies and dragons.

"This has been amazingly fun," says Body Bueno owner Martha Doster. "And the artwork is exceptional."

She's right. The bras stand as fine works of art. Particularly nice are mesh corsets by Randy Cooper, Drew Coduti's "Last Call," Kevin Burgess's mammogram piece and Kimberly Murak's "Seamless," two bra cups sewn together and filled with small wooden balls, evoking a seed.

The bras go on display - and for sale - Thursday and will remain up through the Christmas season. A portion of the proceeds benefit the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation.

In addition to live music and a tango exhibition, the art bra opening will feature the burning of a giant papier-mach‚ bra on Central Avenue, which is closed for the shop and stroll.

"Don't worry. One of the artists doing the piece, Rebecca England, is a fire marshal," Doster says.

She says artists Licia Morello and Marie Kearns approached her two months ago about hosting the show, and she immediately said yes. The 40 artists, some of whom did more than one piece, signed on after hearing about it through word of mouth.

"It spread like wildfire, artists talking to other artists," says Lori Hirsch, who did "Indulgence." "It's such a great idea."

Coduti says the artists had fun, but took the assignment seriously.

"I've done bras before, and codpieces," he says. "This was extension of that."