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Greer Lankton, an influential American artist known for her striking and unconventional dolls, emerged as a prominent figure in the New York art scene during the 1980s. Born in 1958 in the Midwest, Lankton moved to New York City in the late 1970s, where she quickly became known for her lifelike dolls that challenged conventional representations of identity, gender, and the human experience. These dolls, often created from a mix of materials including fabric, paint, and found objects, mimicked the complexities of the human body and served as a medium for Lankton to explore themes of beauty, femininity, and vulnerability. Her work was deeply personal, often reflecting her own experiences and struggles, including her journey as a transgender woman.

The artist's dolls were not only artistic creations but also social commentaries, embodying the bizarre and mundane aspects of life. Figures such as Sissy and Cherry, showcased in this photograph, exemplify Lankton's unique approach, blending humor and pathos in their design. These dolls often served as muses for Lankton, much like the iconic figures of the time, including Teri Toye, Diana Vreeland, and Candy Darling, who were celebrated for their contributions to the avant-garde scene. Lankton’s work resonated with the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, offering a provocative exploration of self-identity and the performative nature of gender.

Lankton's legacy extends beyond her dolls; she was a vital part of the East Village art scene, collaborating with various artists and participating in influential exhibitions. Her work is seen as part of a broader movement that sought to challenge traditional norms in art and society, making room for new voices and expressions. After her untimely death in 1996, Lankton’s contributions were increasingly recognized, cementing her status as a significant figure in contemporary art. Today, her dolls are celebrated not just for their craftsmanship but also for their powerful commentary on identity and the human experience, continuing to inspire new generations of artists and viewers alike.

 

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 They are about to find out if their hatred of women, especially one qualified on every level, to have become President of the U.S. was justified. They are also about to discover if their obstructionist prejudice was worth it.

 

 

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"In my life, I have watched John Kennedy talk on television about missiles in Cuba. I saw Lyndon Johnson look Richard Russell squarely in the eye and say, "And we shall overcome." I saw Richard Nixon resign, and Gerald Ford tell the Congress that our long national nightmare was over. I saw Jimmy Carter talk about malaise and Ronald Reagan talk about a shining city on a hill. I saw George H.W. Bush deliver the eulogy for the Soviet bloc, and Bill Clinton comfort the survivors of Timothy McVeigh's madness in Oklahoma City. I saw George W. Bush struggle to make sense of it all on September 11, 2001, and I saw Barack Obama sing 'Amazing Grace' in the wounded sanctuary of Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"These were the presidents of my lifetime. These were not perfect men. They were not perfect presidents, god knows. Not one of them was that. But they approached the job, and they took to the podium, with all the gravitas they could muster as appropriate to the job. They tried, at least, to reach for something in the presidency that was beyond their grasp as ordinary human beings. They were not all ennobled by the attempt, but they tried nonetheless.

"And comes now this hopeless, vicious buffoon, and the audience of equally hopeless and vicious buffoons who laughed and cheered when he made sport of a woman whose lasting memory of the trauma she suffered is the laughter of the perpetrators. Now he comes, a man swathed in scandal, with no interest beyond what he can put in his pocket and what he can put over on a universe of suckers, and he does something like this while occupying an office that we gave him, and while endowed with a public trust that he dishonors every day he wakes up in the White House.

"The scion of a multigenerational criminal enterprise, the parameters of which we are only now beginning to comprehend. A vessel for all the worst elements of the American condition. And a cheap, soulless bully besides. We never have had such a cheap counterfeit of a president* as currently occupies the office. We never have had a president* so completely deserving of scorn and yet so small in the office, that it almost seems a waste of time and energy to summon up the requisite contempt.

"Watch how a republic dies in the empty eyes of an empty man who feels nothing but his own imaginary greatness, and who cannot find in himself the decency simply to shut up, even when it is in his best interest to do so. Presidents don't have to be heroes to be good presidents. They just have to realize that their humanity is our common humanity, and that their political commonwealth is our political commonwealth, too.

Watch him behind the seal of the President of the United States. Isn't he a funny man? Isn't what happened to that lady hilarious? Watch the assembled morons cheer. This is the only story now."

 

- Charles Pierce

 

 1957 Ford Fairlane "Retractable' Hard Top Convertible

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

 

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Captured at Jack Kerouac Alley and Columbus Ave. San Francisco

PhotographerJudy Sorenson

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