WAYS THAT BEING RAISED ROMAN CATHOLIC INFLUENCED MY PERFORMANCE ART-LIFE

 

 

 WAYS THAT BEING RAISED ROMAN CATHOLIC INFLUENCED MY PERFORMANCE ART-LIFE

1. THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE: Going to Confession as a child every Saturday and being taught in Catholic grade school that I was sinful and caused the death of Jesus, I consider my art as a duplication of this sacrament. For example, when I perform ART/LIFE COUNSELING, now I AM THE PRIEST, listening to people's issues, giving cures, helping and hopefully not scaring the collaborator. Confession was always frightening back in 1948, hopefully ART/LIFE COUNSELING is reassuring and  fun in that i pick up a salt shaker, pour salt in  their hands and say, "take what I say with a grain of salt." ART CURES FEAR.

2.  THE HOLY SPIRIT: When I was taught about the HOLY SPIRIT, I asked myself,  "Where are the women? There is only the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?"  Back then, women were silent, muzzled and unspoken but luckily I sensed a need to respond to my feelings of exclusion. So I became friends in  the 1940's with The Holy Spirit. And by the way, is this an internal and hidden reason why I began working really/conceptually and  physically with live chickens in my art? They were the stars of my MFA dissertation at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. And later I became THE CHICKEN WOMAN, evolving from showing live chickens to being  one. A Holy One perchance?

3. THE MYSTICAL BODY.  At the age of 9 I had an experience of the Mystical Body, an experience of presence and oneness while visiting 2 elders who lived next door to us in a small village, upstate NY.  My performances and especially my endurances are always about asking for/creating and hoping that ONENESS and Unity Consciousness  come forth and are born from time-space dissolvings. 

4. THE CRUCIFIXION: When I was 9 years old, kneeling in Church, I told Jesus that if I was to be like him, I would suffer as much or competitively suffer even more!  Im sure thats why I pushed acupuncture needles in my body, pushed rubber cathedras down my nose, got tied to a man for a year with a rope, handcuffed myself to another artist for three days, blindfolded myself many times living alone in galleries. These were my personal  Crucifixions via Art!!

But I grew tired and aged and eventually  accepted Metta loving kindness suggestions . Plus, I stumbled on the rest of the Jesus story, that is  the Resurrection and Pentecost.  My art changed because my one upmanship with Jesus changed. We now collaborate.

5.THE EUCHARIST: My first Eucharist at 7, I fainted at the wonder of it. The BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS  aspect of it. And it happened one more time when I was in  my 60's. I fainted after Communion then also. Have I truly found that that level of swoon and ecstasy and  alpha, beta, theta, delta brain wave transcending is possible to achieve via HOLY SPIRIT Infused endurances? Does my art reach that level of self-forgetfulness? For example, I experienced an EGO DEATH when I chanted the story of my ex-husband's murder during the video: MITCHELL'S DEATH. I know , that isnt like the Eucharist but it's a close second!!!!

6.RELIGIOUS STATUES: My whole art-life, I have been wanting to be an incorrupt Saint , a living  statue in the Church of my art.  Sometimes I succeed!!  My art is so generous in it's ability to give me the Spiritual medicine that I need to heal my ego self. The Crucifixes and Mary Magdalene sculptures that I made for my MA in Sculpture at Villa Schifanoia, Fiesole, 1966,  will hopefully find a home in a tiny Chapel to be made and placed outside at a museum or at an art collector's collection. BTW  is this a request that you find a way to make this happen?  If so, it includes a finder's fee!!!

7.  HOLY ORDERS:  It's obvious, given my art-life story,  that I would perform as a priest, as a priest impersonating a nun, as an officiant at my rituals, as a person high in the ranks of my own  art church.  But this priest confers the grace of open hearted compassion and wisdom to others,  hoping I am not  a priest/Clergy person who does harm. If I am a good art priest, what a wonderful job I have created for myself!  Art gives me what I need and want.

8. ANGELS:  I impersonate them, i dress like them, collaborators dress like them,   I invite them into my performance space so that they can do their angelic  job with and for me. I am never alone performatively or personally.

9. SAINTHOOD: With apparent hubris, I have acted in art bravely and brazenly, giving myself titles and jobs only the real saints have earned. For example I perform as Mother Teresa because i look like her bent over aged self. This way of performing helps me  to make peace with  my aging art-life body. Over the years, i have become over 12 different people via what I call trauma induced art-dissociation. I play with gender/persona/and the question, WHO AM I really. It is a question that I will continue to ask until there is no more personal I, just a marrying of my Source to Source, my big art Marriage. BTW,  all of  you are SAINTS  as well.

I end with the VISITATION, my favorite Rosary Mystery.  Sculpting it over and over , as art in the 70's, helped cure my inner HEART. In these times of no touch, may we all hug ourselves and perform THE VISITATION OF LIFE. 

 

Much ART=LIFE=LOVE to all of you,

Linda Mary Montano

Saugerties NY 2020