Mattress Factory
Greer Lankton Photographed in Her Chicago Studio/Apartment
When faced with the prospect of creating her first large-scale installation at the Mattress Factory, Lankton knew that she wanted to re-create her studio, in an ideal form, designing an environment of "artificial nature/total indulgence," filled with "dolls engrossed in glamour and self abuse." Like then artist herself, Lankton's dolls and environments possess a disarming mix of innocence and decadence, hope and pathos. she said her work was "all about me," reflecting her life as an artist, a transsexual, and a drug addict. But beyond this, from her position as an outsider, Lankton eloquently explored and questioned accepted norms of gender and sexuality, as well as the powerful imagery of popular culture and consumerism. Her work also describes the difficult mandate of these pervasive, seductive models and the pain of those who do not conform. It is tempting to think that Lankton created her installation at the Mattress Factory as of she knew it was her last (she died in late November, a month after the exhibition opened), filing the space with a retrospective selection of her beloved dolls and everything that was most meaningful to her.
Greer Lankton's "It's all about ME, Not You" is being permanently installed at the Mattress Factory. Opening October 10, 2009.
Greer Lankton Photographed in Her Chicago Studio/Apartment
When faced with the prospect of creating her first large-scale installation at the Mattress Factory, Lankton knew that she wanted to re-create her studio, in an ideal form, designing an environment of "artificial nature/total indulgence," filled with "dolls engrossed in glamour and self abuse." Like then artist herself, Lankton's dolls and environments possess a disarming mix of innocence and decadence, hope and pathos. she said her work was "all about me," reflecting her life as an artist, a transsexual, and a drug addict. But beyond this, from her position as an outsider, Lankton eloquently explored and questioned accepted norms of gender and sexuality, as well as the powerful imagery of popular culture and consumerism. Her work also describes the difficult mandate of these pervasive, seductive models and the pain of those who do not conform. It is tempting to think that Lankton created her installation at the Mattress Factory as of she knew it was her last (she died in late November, a month after the exhibition opened), filing the space with a retrospective selection of her beloved dolls and everything that was most meaningful to her.
Greer Lankton's "It's all about ME, Not You" is being permanently installed at the Mattress Factory. Opening October 10, 2009.