Maya: 3dprojection before deformation (can 3dprojection be in an object's history?)

Say I have a cylinder that has a blendshape applied that bends it 90 degrees so it’s like an elbow. If I apply a shader with a 3d projection, it projects onto the object in it’s final, deformed, position. I would like to have it project when it’s a straight cylinder, and then deform afterwards. Is this possible?

Have you tried a plain old UV projection with ‘insert before deformers’ turned on?