Greer Lankton

Gosh how i miss her. I used to stop in and visit her at her loft and have tea and smoke
pot and laugh. She was a true genius. What a great face and a great laugh. She must
trully reside in the artist section of Heaven. Greer was a great soul, I miss her. A Legend.i

I saw her big titted sculpture at a Whitney Annual which included more G&L artists than ever before, curated by an exceptional gay artworld celeb, Klaus Kertess, and was delightfully surprised that a trans-artist was included in the show, especially in an art climate that was and still is, although administered by art fags and women, in many ways predominantly macho,(compare prices of male artist's work with that of females-- even after women's lib!)
I was anxious to see more of her work but had no knowledge of any public or more comphrehensive exhibits in the Metropolitan Area (the art center of world!)

I guess no NY gallery picked her up...Hmmmmmm!

[This message was edited by Rose Royalle on 05-21-02 at 03:06 AM.]

The Mattress Factory does have a few images from her "It's all about ME, Not You":

http://www.mattress.org/catalogue/96/king/96.lankton.html

Anyone remember her store in the East Village? The windows were always spectacular. Such a talent.

Jojo's site is now up.

You can now see many of his dolls. He learned his dollmaking craft from Greer. You will see a lot of her style reflected in his work, and there are a couple of pictures of her with her dolls on Jojo's bio page.



http://jojochicago.com

XXXOOO
Satori

[This message was edited by Zazoo and Satori on 06-07-02 at 11:57 PM.]

[This message was edited by Zazoo and Satori on 06-11-02 at 11:01 PM.]

Wow! JoJo's work is amazing on its own and an incredible tribute to his artistic mother, as well.
I believe either Gracie or Pat Hearn handled a lot of Greer's work at the time, in addition to Paul's store, Rose.
I own a small ink and watercolor painting by Greer that is one of my absolute treasures. And one of her few forays into two-dimensional expression. She was a true visionary.

In the late 80's I used to live about a block away from Einsteins and I must say the store was incredible. You could see some of the best Greer dolls in the Einsteins window: Candy Darling, Divine, Peggy Moffitt, Diana Vreeland. Not only was the boutique full of vintage Chanel and Pucci, but Greer's husband, Paul Monroe, designed beautiful surreal jewelry. Bracelets made of pills, necklaces reflecting with hundreds of mirrors, tiny buckets of champagne on ice swinging from earrings. The first time I saw Greer in there, she looked exactly like Twiggy-except that she was wearing a black Chanel dress and pearls!The mix of characters parading in and out of the store was insane. Pyramid queens, strippers, east village wierdos, and eccentric older Bergdorf shoppers! One time Iggy Pop was in there at the same moment as an upper east side socialite was wondering which Schiaparelli brooch to buy. What a wild period of time, I wish somebody would do a book on them!

i meet greer in a drag bar in chicago called CHEEKS. well i walked up to her and said whats a nice lady like you doing in a place like this.? she was looking like a chanel model. she said in her hamous raspy voice 'i'm one of the gyrl's too'.then we sat and i told her i was a puppet maker and she told me she was a doll maker. and we were together ever since. stich and bitch was what we did every day for almost 9 years .until two weeks before thanksgiving almost 5 years ago now. she was raped and beaten in her building and draged out into a dumbster where a jogger found her moaning and took her to the hospital.when the police asked what she was doing. she told them that she had a art show coming up(the andy warhol mattress factory)and she was just trowing out garbage. they told her she deserved it because of the way she was dressed. just wearing a t-shirt and boxers and combat boots.she was in the dumbster for almost a day. having had a bad sex change could not be fucked"sorry" he had riped her and when blood is left in the body for that amount of time she got toxic shock sindrome . her doctor said he could have helped her but she didnt want to take the time off from her art and she didnt want to cancel the show so she pushed on .when she came back from the andy warhol factory opening two weeks later she died . a very special part of my life is gone.she will be missed the rest of my life. i would love to do a book for her...so she is not forgoten....if anyone has pics or anything maybe this can come true?.thank you for reading

Oh my God Jo Jo, I had no idea any of that happened. Did anyone else know all that?

yes she told people but it was like no one wanted to hear it ....no one ever wants to hear the bad stuff. and too top it off her parents when she died trew all of her stuff in the alley for the bumbs to take instead of giving it to friends. so i became a garbage picker and i have her wedding dress and some dolls that made it to the heep.

Hattie, did Pat or Gracie give her a one person show?

the andy warhol mattress factory still owns " its all about me...not you"by greer its a great show if you ever get to see it. it was the last thing she did.when the andy warhol factory came to her she didnt know what to do ....so she gave them her apartment. it was only 10 by 10 box and packed full of the most wonderful things you have ever seen....they have a small portrait of greer doing crack ....that is sad but but hauntingly her...i have her siamese twins and a bust of therin(who is part of the movie "party monster" and it has some of his very own pubic hair on it) that her parants threw away and i found,and a fairie named muffin( that was greer's nickname).i am most blessed for ever meeting her and her taking me under her wing.she has given me a talent that will last my life ...and now i have a show in chicago if your in town for the opening friday augst16 7-11 at the las manos gallery...i would love to see you there....my portrait of greer will be on display as well as a 10 foot doll i have named silky jumbo after a club personality he saw it last night for the first time and i scared him...i love being me....kisses from chicago

I spoke to her the day before she was attacked..she was so lost and confused about what to do with the Warhol people.I told her to make them pay her through the nose. I loved her so much. I think of her so often. greer was a major ruler in her day.

That's one reason why we started The Downtown Costume Institute. STUPID families from STUPID places throwing out BRILLIANT art made by BRILLIANT people after they died.
When Madame died for example, her family came from some god-forsaken American toilet and raped her appartment. They threw out EVERYTHING. Sixty something years of magic gone in an instant! They refused to believe that Madame was gay (and dressed in drag). The Metropolitan Museum begged for those costumes (as did alot of other people) The family would just hang up. This has happened so many times. It's heartbreaking.



MADAME
photographed by Michael James O'Brien in Paris.

i would give greer's wedding dress and some of my things if they would be taken care of...even thou when i show my greer doll i made... she wears the dress.i always worry about what will happen to my thing if i was too cross over...my brothers wouldnt want it.it is very beautiful her wedding dress she made it herself...thou she took part of it when she did the opening at the mattress factory...and cut one of the panels to make a shall...i need to get it repaired...but still lovely

i just got a call by paul and he is writing a book about greer...paul for those of you who dont know is greer's husband....so i'm sending photos i have and if anyone else does please send them as well.... lets make this book the bomb

Jo Jo,
Email us or call and we'll tell you about The Downtown Costume Institute.

greer was raped by her grandfather (her mothers father).when greer told her mother greer was told she made it up and i quess the mother (lynn)hated her ever since then.then the mother forged the sex change documents and had the sex change done out of state and the church that greer's father was and is the paster of payied for the change....because they could see having a daughter and not a gay son...greer allways regreted getting the change....but then her mother sexually abused her after the change with a dialater...sick woman. i have just learned she has cancer ....i still talk to greer's father.this is the real hedwig story i think ....greer would have loved that movie. she would tell me about andy warhol and the factory and i didnt belive her until i saw andy warhols america and she was in it ....then i was like yippes who do i know. paul monroe greer's husband and julie numare have just opened a salon in hollywood called goo... and i have been offered a job ? paul is also a doll maker.god bless the mother boards....kisses

Greer Lankton was a huge influence on me and my work as a puppeteer. I have postcards of her dolls that remain central to some my most precious work.
a book and an exhibit of any kind would be amazing

I have to say that even though I have never heard of her, she sounds like she was an extremely fascinating person. It's unfortunate what happened to her.

Hi Basil,

Sabrina was trying to hook us up with you while we were up in June...

Jojo had one of his dolls, and one of Greer's with him, and we've all read so much about your work...can't wait to see one of your shows.

Jojo found this picture of himself in Greer's apartment. I thought I'd post it, because you can see some of her work in the background.



XXXOOO
Satori

yes that is a photo greer took of me . the big doll on the floor is Candy Darling. do believe she had put up three shows at the same time from this little 10x10 studio is amazine in itself....the other doll in the window is co-co she later cut her face of and made her younger....and is still in the collection owned by the andy warhol museum....the show is called " its all about me not ....you'.

yes that is a photo greer took of me . the big doll on the floor is Candy Darling. can you believe she had put up three shows at the same time from this little 10x10 studio is amazine in itself....the other doll in the window is co-co she later cut her face of and made her younger....and is still in the collection owned by the andy warhol museum....the show is called " its all about me not ....you'.

jojo
when i come to chicago this year i hope to meet you
and your puppets

basil

This topic has moved me no end, and since Greer was first and foremost an ArtMaker, I have moved her topic here from NYC Girls. She could have gone so many places - Hopelessly Devoted for one - but it is her work that lives on, and her descendants, many of whom are here!

I was mentioning this phenomenon to several people lately - that "Greer's Kids" (Z&S, JoJo Baby, Gigi etc.) should be here. One was the Mboards own mister e, who is a master archivist and historian. He dug up these pictures for me to share here (and a few others, but these are the tea)

this one is STUNNING. From what mr e told me, Larissa got all bothered because she assumed the doll was based on her! And it wasn't...

Greer, right (with a young Tabboo, left)

She looks really happy in that last shot.

Last time we were up in Chicago @ Jojo's we watched Nan Goldin's "I'll be your Mirror." Greer was interviewed for the film. It's amazing to see her on film, because we never got to meet her in person.

There are also a few of her dolls throughout the film.

XXXOOO
S

This image (posted by Chi Chi yesterday) has fascinated me all night, thank you so much for posting it Chi – [and Mr. e] there is something so beautiful, truly entrancing in the aging doll flesh of these pink and cheery burlesque dames. I would be happy I think to have been any of them in another life. Where are these dolls now? Does anyone know?

D. also is overwhelmed by the detail in the wrinkly breasts, the difference in skin color doll to doll, the warm confidence that shines through, a dream I think we all aspire to be in, again, I think ...

And JoJo, one does get better with age. Regret not. *Tonya reaching across the miles to squeeze your hand*

bazil i can not wait to meet you either...it is so good to see so much love going to my greer. o that photo of her and taboo is SO GOOD...and tonya , greer would make whole skeletons in the dolls as i still do today....then the muscles go on and then skin is streched over them ....when you skip the muscels to make them look skinnier they get that weird skin as you see in the valentine window of enstiens.I LOVE IT. these are some of her post cards ,i have all of them, and extras....i will bring some up when we do the show.if i knew how to work this damn computer better i would show so many more photos of greers stuff....muha love you all

chi chi and mister e thank you for those photos

the "Larissa" one i have a copy of and it has inspired me forever

the valentine's tableau is so incredidibly gorgeous...she was and is such a genius

incredible

my blood is racing looking at that photo

He sent me this ages ago to post - its an invitation for a Palladium event. Gorgey and rare!

beautiful... love the Einstein's bag at her feet...

XXXOOO
S

what a nice photo....she told me of a time she went to germany and they would not let her take her dolls back trew customs....so she left the show ....and one of the dolls that was taken was completly made of underwear just red lips on both ends . and she let quit a few guys fuck it....so she said it was full at the time.i try still to this day asking her parents foe another doll...but they always say they dont know what they own because the museum( andy warhol) still owns it.

i dont know if i could ever leave a show behide again?i would have to stay with it....i have always thought it was nice to meet the artist.

Maybe this is too long to reply. But I'm a curator who would be very interested in showing Greer's work and other related items. Please contact me if you have anything that may help. Thank you.

http://www.geocities.com/greerlankton/greer3.html

Here is another great doll.... Teri Toye...

Zazoo and Satori, on the first post, the link on it is now dead, maybe we can find more things about Greer.

Blehpunk,

Please email us at mail@theclubcreatures.com

I'm calling Jojo, Greer's apprentice tonight to give him the heads up. He's got a couple pieces, and he's also been in touch with Paul Monroe (Greer's Husband) as recent as a year ago. At that time they were throwing around the idea of a book...

I'd like to put you in touch with him.

Also, I don't know what kind of connections you have, but if you can, you might want to consider talking to Nan Goldin. Some of her work features Greer.

How depressing that that link is gone It's a crime that there isn't more information about her online. The next best link that IS online is here:

http://www.mattress.org/catalogue/96/king/96.lankton.html

Something really needs to be done about keeping her legacy alive.

XXXOOO
Satori

Zazoo and Satori:

Thank you for having this discussion about Greer here. I was a friend of Greer's in Chicago, I met her in 1991 when she was doing displays for The Alley, where I worked.
I knew Greer first as a sweet and really nurturing woman, and it was only later that she really introduced me to her dolls. (She always just called them dolls).
I was just some punk rock kid trying to make my place in Chicago back then, and Greer really made me feel like I mattered. Not to mention nursing me back to health on the occasional morning after a rough night out.

You are so right, there DOES need to be more about Greer online and everywhere else. I publish a magazine now, and if we could get people together, I'd love to do something to remember her.

By the way, a new mural just went up near my home in the lower east side - it's at 3rd and Ave. B - it's a wall of names, including Candy Darling, Nico, and many others. Greer is one of the names on the wall. I just noticed the mural today, which is what made me go looking for her name online, and led me to this site. Thank you again.

I miss her.

JoJo, I don't know if you'll see this since it looks like a long time since you posted - but if you do, well, hello!
I haven't seen you since Chicago, but I'm in New York now, still making Permission magazine, and it's been ages since I've seen you. Love!

-Jayson Elliot