1. Greer Lankton, was an American transgender artist known for creating lifelike sewn dolls that were often modeled on friends or celebrities and posed in elaborate theatrical settings.
25 Facts About Greer Lankton
1. 2.
Greer Lankton was a key figure in the East Village art scene of the 1980s in New York.
3.
Greer Lankton was born in Flint, Michigan, to a Presbyterian minister and his wife.
4.
Greer Lankton studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later studied sculpture at the Pratt Institute in New York.
5.
Greer Lankton changed her name and had gender affirmation surgery at the age of 21, while she was a student at Pratt.
6.
Greer Lankton had previously been the subject of a local newspaper article about people transitioning to a new gender.
7.
Greer Lankton's dolls are created in the likeness of those society calls "freaks", and have often been compared to the surrealist works of Hans Bellmer, who made surreal dolls with interchangeable limbs.
8.
Greer Lankton created figures that were simultaneously distressing and glamorous, as if they were both victim and perpetrator of their existence.
9.
Greer Lankton would create the dolls by first making joints out of coat hangers or skeletons of old umbrellas to move like actual human joints.
10.
Greer Lankton enjoyed playing with her dolls as she made them and would have friends over to play with them as well.
11.
Greer Lankton 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.
12.
Besides her more emotionally charged dolls, Greer Lankton created commissioned portrait dolls.
13.
Greer Lankton's final and largest work from 1996, titled It's All About Me, Not You, is a permanent installation at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh.
14.
In November 2014, "LOVE ME," a major exhibition of Greer Lankton's work including more than 90 dolls, documentation, and ephemera was mounted at PARTICIPANT, INC in New York City.
15.
Greer Lankton began studying at the Pratt Institute in New York City in 1978.
16.
Greer Lankton was friends with photographer Nan Goldin and lived in Goldin's apartment in the early 1980s, often posing for her.
17.
Greer Lankton was featured as the subject of a photo-essay in Nan Goldin's book, The Other Side.
18.
Greer Lankton played muse to photographers including David Wojnarowicz and Peter Hujar.
19.
Greer Lankton married designer Paul Monroe in 1987 in New York City.
20.
Paul Monroe opened his shop EINSTEINS at 34 east 7th street NYC in 1981 and in 1983 Greer Lankton joined him as a partner.
21.
In 1986 Greer Lankton opened up her own gallery THE DOLL CLUB in EINSTEINS.
22.
In 1991, Greer Lankton moved back to Chicago and went into a detoxification clinic.
23.
Greer Lankton continued to struggle with drug addiction and anorexia for many years.
24.
Greer Lankton died on November 18,1996, of a drug overdose in her Chicago apartment, just a month after completing her final and largest work.
25.
Greer Lankton was the known mentor of Chicago artist Jojo Baby in regards to doll making.