We're going to report this one straight, for several reasons: 1) We love the idea, 2) we feel that Liz Cohen knows what the hell she's doing when it comes to "conceptual" art, 3) we really, really like Trabants, and 4) we really, really like bikinis.

Here's the general idea of Cohen's piece (first conceived in 2004) from the marvelous pushthebuttonplay.com. Deal with it.

"BODYWORK is the attempt to transform a German car into an American car. Cohen bought a Trabant in Berlin and shipped it to America. Upon its arrival, the effort to transform the Trabant into a lowriding Chevrolet El Camino begins. Cohen in a search for her own place in the lowrider world works at a custom autobody shop and additionally works out with a personal trainer to become a lowrider bikini model. In the summer of 2004 the bikini model/car customizer and the Trabant turned El Camino will do a tour de force of lowrider competitions to show off their new looks.

"BODYWORK will be shown as a video installation including the car that constantly transforms back and forth from Trabant to El Camino lowrider and a hip hop music video."

Keep your Picassos and your Hirsts. We'll stick with women who know how to chop a car down. Happily, for those living in or visiting Santa Fe this summer, the Center for Contemporary Arts will feature BODYWORK and other pieces examining the power and mystery of the lowrider tradition, "and how it is disseminated and incorporated into new cultures, conversations, and contexts."

Yes. Cultures and contexts forever, of course. But just a note of advice, CCA: make sure that you have some tricked-out cars on the scene that are hopping like mad. All right?

-- BEN COSGROVE

Liz Cohen and her tricked-out Trabant.