Greer Lankton (April 21, 1958 – November 18, 1996), was an American artist known for creating lifelike sewn dolls that were often modeled on friends or celebrities and posed in elaborate theatrical settings. She was a key figure in the East Village art scene of the 1980s in New York.

Early life

Greer Lankton was born in Flint, Michigan, to a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and his wife. It was during her rough childhood as a "feminine boy" that she began creating dolls. "It was when I was about ten years old ... I used to make dolls out of hollyhocks and all types of flowers.

Pipe cleaner A pipe cleaner or chenille stem is a type of brush originally intended for removing moisture and residue from smoking pipes. They can also be used for any application that calls for cleaning out small bores or tight places. Special pipe cleaner ...

dolls and things like that. I started taking it seriously by the time I went to college when I was 17." Lankton was often teased by peers, and on more than one occasion experienced physical harassment. Lankton studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later Pratt Institute in New York. She changed her name and had

gender affirmation surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and al ...

at the age of 21, while she was a student at Pratt. Lankton's father Bill convinced the church's board to cover Greer's surgery under the church's health insurance. She had previously been the subject of a local newspaper article about people transitioning to a new gender.

Work

Lankton said in interviews that the surgery "made me focus on bodies. I was always thinking about bodies, and if you think you have the wrong body, you're always going to think about it." Gender and sexuality are recurring themes in Lankton's art. Her dolls are created in the likeness of those society calls "freaks", and have often been compared to the surrealist works of

Hans Bellmer Hans Bellmer (13 March 1902 – 24 February 1975) was a German artist, best known for the life-sized pubescent female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer. Biography B ...

, who made surreal dolls with interchangeable limbs. She created figures that were simultaneously distressing and glamorous, as if they were both victim and perpetrator of their existence. In 1981, Lankton was featured in the seminal "New York/New Wave" exhibition at P.S.1 in Long Island City and began to show her work in the East Village at Civilian Warfare, where she had solo shows in 1983, 1984, and 1985. She gained an almost cult following among East Village residents from her highly theatrical window displays she designed for Einstein's, the boutique run by her husband, Paul Monroe, at 96 East Seventh Street. Besides her more emotionally charged dolls, Lankton also created commissioned portrait dolls. These include a 1989 doll of

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the ...

that was commissioned for a window display at Barney's as well as shrines to her icons, such as

Candy Darling Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender icon. She starred in Andy Warhol's films ''Flesh'' (1968) and '' Women in Revolt'' (1971), and was a muse of The Velve ...

. Critic Roberta Smith described her works in the ''New York Times'' as: "Beautifully sewn, with extravagant clothes, make-up and hairstyles, they were at once glamorous and grotesque and exuded intense, Expressionistic personalities that reminded some observers of Egon Schiele. They presaged many of the concerns of '90s art, including the emphasis on the body, sexuality, fashion and, in their resemblance to puppets, performance." Photographer Nan Goldin said "Greer was one of the pioneers who blurred the line between

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

and

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

.". She appeared in Goldin's 1995 film "I'll Be Your Mirror." She also had work in the prestigious

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition ...

and the Venice Biennale, both in 1995, where her busts of

, circus fat ladies, and dismembered heads gained her notoriety.The Mattress Factory Art Museum: Home -> Exhibitions -> 1996 -> Greer Lankton
". Retrieved 2007-10-18. In November 2014, "LOVE ME," a major exhibition of Lankton's work including more than 90 dolls, documentation, and ephemera was mounted at PARTICIPANT, INC in New York City. It was organized by Lia Gangitano in cooperation with the Greer Lankton Archives Museum (G.L.A.M.), which was founded by Paul Monroe after Lankton's death.

Personal life

Lankton began studying at the Pratt Institute in New York City in 1978. Lankton was friends with photographer

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born September 12, 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work often explores LGBT subcultures, moments of intimacy, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the opioid epidemic. Her most notable work is '' The Ballad of Sexual Depe ...

and lived in Goldin's apartment in the early 1980s, often posing for her. She also played muse to photographers including

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

and

Peter Hujar Peter Hujar (October 11, 1934 – November 26, 1987) was an American photographer best known for his black and white portraits. He has been recognized posthumously as a major American photographer of the late-twentieth century. Yet Hujar's work r ...

. Lankton married designer Paul Monroe in 1987 in New York City. Nan Goldin was their wedding photographer. Greer and Paul met in 1981 introduced by Peter Hujar who was later Paul's best man at their wedding. They started dating in 1982 and then lived together from 1984 to 1992, when Greer went to rehab in the mid west. Paul Monroe opened his shop EINSTEINS at 34 east 7th street NYC in 1981 and in 1983 Greer joined him as a partner. In 1986 Greer opened up her own gallery THE DOLL CLUB in EINSTEINS. Lankton's window installations at Einstein's put the store on the map, but the store closed in 1992. Lankton struggled with drug addiction and

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

for many years. She died on November 18, 1996, of a drug overdose in her Chicago apartment, just a month after completing her final and largest work. Titled ''It's All About Me, Not You'', this last work has become a permanent installation at the

Mattress Factory The Mattress Factory is a contemporary art museum located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a pioneer of site-specific installation art and features permanent installations by artists Yayoi Kusama, James Turrell, and Greer Lankton. The museum' ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

References

External links

*
Greer Lankton, a Memoir by Julia Morton
' from ArtNet.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lankton, Greer 1958 births 1996 deaths American artists American LGBT artists Transgender artists Transgender women Pratt Institute alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Artists from Michigan LGBT people from Michigan LGBT people from New York (state) People from Flint, Michigan Drug-related deaths in Illinois 20th-century LGBT people Inductees of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame