Nicolino, conceptual artist and art director for the National Bra Tapestry, needs Iowa State’s help.

Nicolino needs the women of America to send him bras to be part of a tapestry that will be presented to U.S. President Bill Clinton on Sept. 22.

He needs 40,000 bras in order to complete the project. Right now he has about 10,000.

The tapestry will be 40 feet wide and 100 feet long.

Once all the bras are collected Nicolino will begin the tapestry, an image of the Statue of Liberty.

The tapestry will be finished by the women of America.

Nicolino will tour the country, stopping in places that have showed great interest in the project.

“If I get 1000 envelopes containing bras from Iowa State, I will make sure it is on our list of stops,” he said.

“We want to present it to Clinton because we feel he has clout to promote breast cancer research to The National Institute of Cancer,” Nicolino said.

He is currently working with medical anthropologists who wrote a book titled “Dressed to Kill.” Their book covers the connection between bra wearing and breast cancer.

Husband and wife team, Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer, authored the book that discusses the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system moves lymph fluid throughout the system, flushing toxins from the body.

The lymphatic vessels in soft tissue are the size of silk thread and pressure on these vessels clogs up and shuts down the lymphatic system.

Singer and Grismaijer said the pressure placed on the vessels by a bra over periods of years is enough to do this.

“The problem is that America doesn’t want to talk about breast cancer,” Nicolino said. “Hopefully by getting the information out in a fun way will get people to listen.”

Nicolino was part of a similar project in 1994 when he made Bras Across the Grand Canyon.

Send bras to National Bra Tapestry, 4298 Vineland Avenue, Studio City CA, 91602.