DEATH-ATHON/LIFE-ATHON: LINDA MARY MONTANO
DEATH-ATHON/LIFE-ATHON: A 2 DAY ENDURANCE: LINDA MARY MONTANO
DAY 1: DEATH-ATHON. Death is out of the closet. It's really on TV, been googled and you tubed. Nothing is hidden anymore.
For years I have made a study of death in my art and this 4 hour marathon will be a sharing of my videos and performances which address old age, sickness and death.
A. DEATH IN THE ART/LIFE OF LINDA MARY MONTANO. This video is a re-seeing of a slide lecture that I presented in 1997 at the University Of Texas Austin. It includes death customs and the death rituals of different cultures. I have re-made it as a video, 2014, and open the marathon with an overview of death in my art/life and the lives of others. 40 minutes.
B.DYSTONIA, 2011. I developed a neurological chronic disease, cervical dystonia, and receive botox injections in my neck every 3 months to control spasms. This is my first physical illness and I include this video as a part of the trilogy of the Buddhist teachings on old age, sickness and death as preludes to the impetus to study of the Dharma. DYSTONIA is a metaphor for what happens when the body becomes fragile and the immune system begins to weaken.20 minutes.
C. NURSE NURSE!! 2013. This video is a spoof and an ironic look at dementia and it's cure which is compassion, mindfulness and surrender. I play act being totally bananas and out of control, angry and aggressive. And then I counteract the same scenario, for example, being given meds, with a kind and gentle response to the nurse giving me pills. It is not funny, it is tragic. But it is a necessary rehearsal for a fait accompli waiting for many of us boomers. A song of thanks to caregivers ends the tape.30 minutes.
D. BENARES, 1997. I went to Benares to observe and film cremations on the banks of the Ganges. I was also interested in seeing how elders were cared for and how they spent their time. It happened. I went there, saw everything and cured myself of my need for any more death voyeurism. The resulting video is a powerful meditation on the swiftness of life and the open and visible disposal of the mortal coil. 30 minutes.
E. MITCHELL'S DEATH, 1981. In 1977 my ex-husband Mitchell Payne, photographer, was murdered. I was devastated and went immediately to my art to feel it. I wrote, made films and the video classic, MITCHELL'S DEATH is the resulting, raw document of the time from the minute I heard about his death to the time that I saw his body in the funeral home. 22 minutes.
F. DAD ART, 2005. I took care of my father Henry Montano for 7 years and we started doing a video film together. Then he had a stroke and was in bed for 3 years. I didn't put the camera down but hid behind it for those three years so that I could be protected from my sorrow as I watched him slowly die. This film is a song to him and his last breath. a 2 hour video with performance by MONTANO and 5 volunteers.
During this 4 hour marathon, I will be available and share ART/LIFE COUNSELING with those in attendance. Pot luck food will be shared during the marathon and people can come and go, visit, do their internet business and use the time to have face presence with each other.
After MITCHELL'S DEATH, we will have a 15 minute intermission and prepare for THE DAD ART VIDEO-PERFORMANCE.(2hours)
Tech needs are available on request: lindamontano@hotmail.com
DAY 1: DEATH-ATHON. Death is out of the closet. It's really on TV, been googled and you tubed. Nothing is hidden anymore.
For years I have made a study of death in my art and this 4 hour marathon will be a sharing of my videos and performances which address old age, sickness and death.
A. DEATH IN THE ART/LIFE OF LINDA MARY MONTANO. This video is a re-seeing of a slide lecture that I presented in 1997 at the University Of Texas Austin. It includes death customs and the death rituals of different cultures. I have re-made it as a video, 2014, and open the marathon with an overview of death in my art/life and the lives of others. 40 minutes.
B.DYSTONIA, 2011. I developed a neurological chronic disease, cervical dystonia, and receive botox injections in my neck every 3 months to control spasms. This is my first physical illness and I include this video as a part of the trilogy of the Buddhist teachings on old age, sickness and death as preludes to the impetus to study of the Dharma. DYSTONIA is a metaphor for what happens when the body becomes fragile and the immune system begins to weaken.20 minutes.
C. NURSE NURSE!! 2013. This video is a spoof and an ironic look at dementia and it's cure which is compassion, mindfulness and surrender. I play act being totally bananas and out of control, angry and aggressive. And then I counteract the same scenario, for example, being given meds, with a kind and gentle response to the nurse giving me pills. It is not funny, it is tragic. But it is a necessary rehearsal for a fait accompli waiting for many of us boomers. A song of thanks to caregivers ends the tape.30 minutes.
D. BENARES, 1997. I went to Benares to observe and film cremations on the banks of the Ganges. I was also interested in seeing how elders were cared for and how they spent their time. It happened. I went there, saw everything and cured myself of my need for any more death voyeurism. The resulting video is a powerful meditation on the swiftness of life and the open and visible disposal of the mortal coil. 30 minutes.
E. MITCHELL'S DEATH, 1981. In 1977 my ex-husband Mitchell Payne, photographer, was murdered. I was devastated and went immediately to my art to feel it. I wrote, made films and the video classic, MITCHELL'S DEATH is the resulting, raw document of the time from the minute I heard about his death to the time that I saw his body in the funeral home. 22 minutes.
F. DAD ART, 2005. I took care of my father Henry Montano for 7 years and we started doing a video film together. Then he had a stroke and was in bed for 3 years. I didn't put the camera down but hid behind it for those three years so that I could be protected from my sorrow as I watched him slowly die. This film is a song to him and his last breath. a 2 hour video with performance by MONTANO and 5 volunteers.
During this 4 hour marathon, I will be available and share ART/LIFE COUNSELING with those in attendance. Pot luck food will be shared during the marathon and people can come and go, visit, do their internet business and use the time to have face presence with each other.
After MITCHELL'S DEATH, we will have a 15 minute intermission and prepare for THE DAD ART VIDEO-PERFORMANCE.(2hours)
Tech needs are available on request: lindamontano@hotmail.com
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DAY 2: LIFE-ATHON
I have been using the concept of Endurance in my performances in order to obliterate time and my preoccupation with past and future projecting, so that I can stay in NOW. I do things for a long "time" so I can forget "time" and simply "be" and not do.
In this 7 hour Lifeathon, I will be sitting on a mechanical lift raised in the air 14 feet, and singing either RAKA MUKERJEES Ragas or LINDA RONSTADTS Songs , along with their CD's.
I have used a mechanical lift in many other performances over the years as a symbolical and ironical tool to indicate ascension, flight, release and more truthfully and probably a subconscious arrogance and narcissistic need for height over everyone else!
I have been using the concept of Endurance in my performances in order to obliterate time and my preoccupation with past and future projecting, so that I can stay in NOW. I do things for a long "time" so I can forget "time" and simply "be" and not do.
In this 7 hour Lifeathon, I will be sitting on a mechanical lift raised in the air 14 feet, and singing either RAKA MUKERJEES Ragas or LINDA RONSTADTS Songs , along with their CD's.
I have used a mechanical lift in many other performances over the years as a symbolical and ironical tool to indicate ascension, flight, release and more truthfully and probably a subconscious arrogance and narcissistic need for height over everyone else!
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