Ep. 7 Living Alone in the Mountains & It’s all about ME, not you

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This episode Megan & Milena cover primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey & American trans sculptor Greer Lankton

Dian Fossey

So here we are again. Hang out and listen while I tell the story of one woman who basically said “FUCK ALL OF SOCIETY’S NORMS. I love animals more than I love people.” And, honestly, I can relate. This woman found a home in the mountains all by herself just to be in the lives of the creatures she loved. And if I have ever related to something so hard, it would be this. She dedicated her entire life researching, documenting, and protecting these sweet, intelligent, and beautiful creatures.

She wasn’t perfect. She spray painted live cattle. So….not the BEST person. But her abrasive heart was in the right place. And we commend her for her dedication to the animal sciences.


Fossey has always loved animals. This is her in her riding gear as an equestrian. She liked Horses, like a lot. I’m not about that whole life. But whatever.
Dian & Digit May 1977

Fossey and her favorite Gorilla, Digit. Digit was known around the world and plastered all over travel agencies and billboards. It was the death of Digit that prompted Fossey to create the Digit Fund and instigate anti-poaching efforts of mountain gorillas.

Field Museum, Chicago 9/83

Fossey took a step back from living in the mountains with gorillas to write about her experiences in Rwanda and the Congo. For the little time she spent away, she was a guest professor at Columbia University and published Gorillas In The Mist, a best selling novel that was eventually adapted into a movie.


Fossey’s gravestone. After Dian Fossey’s brutal murder, she was buried next to Digit on Camp Karisoke. Above her name was the nicknamed given to her by locals. Nyiramachabelli translated roughly to “Woman who lives alone in the woods.” The nickname was a marker of the efforts and sacrifices she made to tell the world about her beloved gorillas.

If you want to give to the anti poaching fund she started, or want more information about the efforts made today, you can check out the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International HERE

Greer Lankton

Coming of age in the 1980’s, Greer was part of a scene of counterculture artist rising out of the East Village in NYC. Originally from Michigan, growing up Greer knew that she was different. For one thing, she was born a boy. Transitioning in 1979 at the age of 21 gave Greer a unique perspective on gender that resounded in her art. She sculpted dolls were rendered with a hyper awareness of the body, crafted with a level of attention and detail that resulted in a combination of both beauty and the grotesque. While passing too early from an overdose, the work Greer left behind is an extremely personal testament to rise of queer art within postmodern art.

Wedding Photos by Nan Goldin

Greer & David on their wedding day in March of 1987
The happy couple David & Greer along with Greer’s dad, who officiated the marriage

Selected Work

Jackie O – an articulating figure with her iconic outfit hand sewn by Greer. As Milena puts it, “Jackie Kennedy was perfection ”
This is my favorite sculpture by Greer – I love the sass and personality Greer captured in this character
As we talk about, Greer worked at extremes when depicting the body. In all her work here’s a vitality to her work that’s unflinching in who she’s depicting

Work from It’s all about ME, not you

On permeant display at the Pittsburgh, PA Mattress Factory
A larger than life head along with the bust of Cindy Darling, which was shown in the 1995 Whitney Biennial
The piece mentioned most likely inspired by seeing countless friends die from AIDS in the late 1980’s and 90’s
Left, the second piece to be shown at the 1995 Whitney Biennial, right another view of the emaciated figure surrounded by pill bottles
A view from her solo installation, replicating her Chicago studio apartment

Mentioned this episode:

  • Julia Morton – Writer, curator and friend to Greer
  • Karl Heinrich Ulrichs – Considered the pioneer of the modern gay rights movement, started in 1864 Germany
  • Jeff Koons – Celebrity artist who makes millions from his giant inflatable balloon sculptures
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat – Artist active as the same time as Greer, currently holds the record for most expensive American art sold (a mere 110,487,500$ USD)
  • Nan Goldin – Friend of Greer who photographed her regularly and a award winning photographer. Her documentary including Greer, I’ll be your mirror, can be watched HERE
  • Iggy Pop – Famed punk rock musician and collector or Greer’s art
  • Cindy Darling – Actress and muse to Andy Warhol and a transsexual icon from the 1970’s
  • Mattress Factory – A 1977 artist founded museum for site specific installations where Greer had her last piece displayed
  • Reagan Administration – Who were less than concerned with the raise of AIDS – listen to the press room exchange we mention HERE, in which the press secretary FUCKING LAUGHS about AIDS
  • JoJo Baby – Chicago based sculptor, performance artist, and influential figure in the Chicago drag scene who worked under Greer, learning doll making
  • Paul Monroe – Ex-husband to Greer who has created GLAM, the Greer Lankton Archives Museum and is committed to ensuring Greer’s creative legacy

As always, music by EeL