By the early 1970s, body jewelry had become part of the contemporary arts and crafts vocabulary worldwide, eventually reaching garment-sized proportions. Carolyn Kriegman’s signature material was Plexiglas, which she used for kinetic neckpieces with moving parts and floor length pectorals such as the one seen here.

When not worn, Kriegman’s body jewelry could be unhooked into shorter units and hung on a pedestal like a sculpture or on the wall like a hanging. The oversized geometric shapes mirrored the shapes and patterns found in contemporary fashion and textile design.