LETTER TO VIDEO DATA BANK
Dear VIDEO DATA BANK,
Many years ago, maybe in the early 80's or late 70's I learned about you when KATE HORSFIELD and LYN BLUMENTHAL were your Curators and they accepted my early videos, MITCHELLS DEATH and LEARNING TO TALK.
That began a relationship which has lasted until now, 2023, and you, with current Curator TOM COLLEY, have collected probably over 60 of my tapes!!! You will never know how secure and happy I am to be in your video family!!! We go back over 43 years!!
I would like to mention here a few highlights of our time together.
1. 1984, Curator Lyn Blumenthal interviewed me for your PROFILE VOL. 4 NO. 6 DECEMBER 1984
2. Curator Abina Manning, in 2017, published a 6 video compilation about DEATH titled: LINDA MONTANO: VIDEOWORKS VOLUME 1. It includes an interview with me and Janet Dees.
3. In February 2020, VDB in collaboration with The Gene Siskel Film Center and SAIC's Film, Video, New Media and Animation Department invited me to present my work as part of the CONVERSATIONS AT THE EDGE series.
4. In 2023 I coordinated with Curator Tom Colley to donate royalties from my work to a charity of VDB's choice after my death.
VDB, as I said before, you have over 60 of my tapes!!! How can I thank you for that? You have all of my me as MOTHER TERESA tapes, all of my me as BOB DYLAN tapes, and my MITCHELLS DEATH tape which MOMA collected, and my recent dear to my heart video titled MA AND THE SEVEN CHAKRAS, a response to covid. It is appropriate that I mention here that I am completely "hands off" as far as technology goes and as a result, and for the last 25 years, MASTER video artist TOBE CAREY has edited/animated over 50 of my tapes and almost all of my sound was engineered by JIM BARBARO. Also, Tobe and I have co-created approximately four animated comedies titled LINDA AND TOBE MAKE A TAPE. They are hilarious. With Tobe‘s editing and animating I have been able to share my dreams.
To conclude, now that I am 81 years old, I have been feeling a video denouement, a coming to a close of my video making. This might not be true because I have said this before to Tobe. But soon you will receive one of my all-time favorites, WHAT COULD GO WRONG, and our last two; MOTHER HEALERS and my supposed truly last video, DEMENTIA. BTW, I have not contracted the elephant in the room, dementia, but I do want to address this health issue creatively because it is always ART=LIFE for me and using art as a medicinal healing tool for my everyday life issues is mandatory.
I close with bows to Tom and all Staff. Please support VIDEO DATA BANK. Buy/rent videos! And know, VDB, I would like you to always FEEL MY GRATITUDE.
In ART=LIFE=LOVE
Linda Mary Montano 3/2023
******************************************************************************
A. To research my work even further these are my books:
1. ART IN EVERYDAY LIFE
2. THE ART LIFE INSTITUTE HANDBOOK
3. A HEART BEFORE AND AFTER ART LIFE COUNSELING
4. PERFORMANCE ARTISTS TALKING IN THE 80’S (also a MONOSKOP PDF)
5. MILDREDS DEATH
6. LETTERS FROM LINDA MARY MONTANO
7. YOU TOO ARE A PERFORMANCE ARTIST
8. MY LAST BOOK (MONOSKOP PDF only)
B. FALES LIBRARY NEW YORK UNIVERSITY has collected my extensive archive.
C. My BLOG is at LINDAMARYMONTANO@BLOGSPOT.COM
D. My website is in perpetuity via FALES
E. Lindamontano@hotmail.com
F. Phone 845-399-2502
MAY 24, 2023. Bob Dylan’s 82nd Birthday.
