SHHHHH I DO NOT HAVE ALZHEIMERS. 2026 by LINDA MARY MONTANO

________________________________________   SHHHHHHHH. I DO NOT HAVE ALZHEIMERS. 2026. by LINDA MARY MONTANO DISCLAIMER: SHHHHH I DO NOT have Dementia. I occasionally forget words and names. Who doesn’t at 84? This essay is an invitation to embrace transform let go of Dementia fear because maybe it’s a good thing to have a Demented empty mind? SHHHHHHH.   Who wants to sit for centuries on a hard cushion in a meditation center to obtain coveted mental spaciousness when the mind itself can produce the Big Emptying all by itself? Shhhhh. What I am saying is this: IS ALZHEIMERS a work free way and technique to create a worry free mind?  SHHHHHHH So fear OF Alzheimer’s,  begone! If Alzheimers is to be my fate, I dance the fearless dance of BRING IT ON!!!   I say bring it on because  I have performed, sang, danced and therapeutically analyzed via art all of my life challenges. So now in my 80’s, I realized that it was probably time for me to begin thinking about my personal ENDGAME and so for months at the 3 and 4 am insomnia hours I heard myself ask myself, “Oh no, how will I die”!!! SHHHHHHH  Shhhhh  Convincing myself that this thinking was appropriate for my age, I went down the shopping list of possibilities and wondered if it would be the big C? Cancer.  A fall or head trauma?  a car accident? Heart? or Taa Daah the scariest for me: DEMENTIA ALZHEIMERS? I am ALWAYS  the art fixer, the aesthetic medicine applier, the self taught art therapist, the one who thrived on creatively addressing her shadow, the one who could video the pain away the one who could write a beginners Haiku and feel better once it was saved in her Haiku Book, the one who sang the monsters away, I wondered if I could address this possible new challenge of “Oh no, I’m losing my mind”!!!SHHHHHHH DON’T TELL ANYONE!   Every forgotten name, address, phone number egged me onto my new project which is to make dementia not such a bad thing. My task was fixing it using the only skill I have which is ART. Having begun my research by always taking care of sick family and friends, I made myself livable with the idea of mind-losing by making a video thanks to Toby, Jim, Laura Kopczak and Josepha Gutelius titled NURSE NURSE,  which was dedicated to CNA’s and as a difficult forgetting person in the video, I posited that an Angelic Divineness could appear and rescue difficult.  performer me from making the CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT’S  life Hell IN THE NURSING HOME WHEN I GET THERE  Shhhhhhhh.  That was then, this is now and I’m 84  And I’m thinking about not the overworked/underpaid nursing home nurse  this time, instead I’m considering my fear and trembling at the embarrassment of possibly running nude down the street I live on  in Saugerties, shhhhhh and I think about the possibility of my addled dementiaed-self driving to Woodstock and forgetting how to get back home, I think about the possibility of sending in my Central Hudson bill and inserting a blank check in the return envelope. And I’m thinking worse than these possibilities and in good self therapy fashion, warning myself that I’m actually planting some real interesting internal disaster,  screenplay possibilities for the time when friends text each other and agree that, “Wow, Linda has really lost it. There’s zilch life in her eyes and she is not only zig-zag walking, but did you notice when she.......” Fill in the blank. shhhhhhhh  There are tons of options. You’ve got the picture, right? And we haven’t even mentioned diapers yet. So here is my current DEUS EX MACHINA, my HAPPY PLACE when I consider, think about, terrorize myself with ghoulish thoughts about my newest fear, early onset Alzheimers. It goes like this. I say to myself: 1. Linda, how many years have you been involved in the “spiritual” game, path, community, practice. I answer myself with, “Many.  Always.”  2. Linda, you are devoted to the possibility of your changing adjusting expanding understanding forgiving enlightening this mind via all of the 8654 practices you impose on it, right? I answer myself with, “I guess maybe you are right.” 3. Linda, so let’s suppose that if you do “catch” Alzheimers, you will be on the fast track to an EMPTY, CLEAR, UNIMPEDED MIND.  Isn’t that a good thing? That’s what you have wanted all along: to become ONE with the Mystical Body of Christ, to finally be judgment free and expansive, to graduate to Non-dual awareness, to be ENLIGHTENED! I answer this with, “I guess you are right.” 4. Linda, plus, think of the practical pluses of no-mind: no more having to call the heater company when the furnace goes off in the winter, no more wondering who is scamming you online, no more so so much. I answer this with, “You’re probably right.”shhhhhhhh right I won’t care because my mind will not remember to care.  Yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 5. Linda, here is the clincher, I promise you if you de-fear Alzheimers, take the Monster out of it, if you courage up and face it her - she whatever it is appropriate to call this mind taking condition, if you promise to laugh hard and loud with and at it, if you draw it, shout with it, DANCE with it then it will be just another luck of the draw. Shhhhhhh No matter what, you’re LEAVING DODGE. You are incrementally dying moment by moment. Why not go out dancing with and by yourself as a chicken woman, as an ex hippie elder, and hopefully play game less games with anyone else in the NURSING HOME willing to join. I answer with, “Why do you think I practice daily Chicken Dances? “  Shhhhhhhhhhh.  Shhhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhhhh 

Performance Workshop ( Ananda) Chakras

CHAKRA WORKSHOP 1. PERFORM VIA SHRI BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI TEACHINGS: PLAY DYNAMIC MEDITATION TAPE 2. PERFORM VIA PERFORMANCE ART PROMPTS 3. VIA MOVEMENTS FOR EACH CHAKRA 4. VIA SOUNDING THE MANTRA FOR THE CHAKRA 5. VIA WRITING EXERCISES 6. VIA EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES FOR EACH CHAKRA 7. VIA SHARING PAST PERSONAL CHAKRA EXPERIENCES READINGS RAMMAMURTI MISHRA: FUNDAMENTALS OF YOGA VIDEO LINDA MARY MONTANO: CHAKRAPHONICS LINDA MARY MONTANO , PERFORMANCE ARTIST , IS A STUDENT OF SHRI BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI AND FOR 14 YEARS , 1984-1998, PERFORMED A STUDY OF THE CHAKRAS TITLED 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART.

WINDOW PEACE RE-PERFORMANCE MEMORY OF SUSAN KLECKNER, PENNSYLVANIA.

WINDOW PEACE RE PERFORMANCE MARCH 20,2026, WINDOW PEACE MY PAST ENDURANCE AND REASON FOR MY CHOICES In the mid 60's, artist-activist-feminist SUSAN KLECKNER invited 40 artists to publicly use and respond to her PEACE PROMPT ,each for a week, in a window directly off Canal Street NYC. Having lived in a Zen center, in upstate NY for 3 years, and having been tied with an 8 foot rope to Tehching Hsieh in collaboration with his one year performance, I was not too surprised by my choice to live blindfolded for a week in Susan's installation. But then again I was 45 and invincible and never stopped to consider the consequences of being in a public window, day and night , on a public street in NYC. What could go wrong? What would happen when I cooked blindfolded? And recently I learned there was a curtain that could be pulled so no one noticed when I used the porta potty. What hubris I had! Sleeping on a top loft, never peeking and stuffing my fears deep into my shadow of fears, waiting to be unloaded 40 years later. Sothen my yes was quick always, without too much consideration of consequences. And I lived, my eyes still remained useable and I continued for many years experimenting with questionable endurances. DARK ROOM RETREATS AND ART AND LIFE Google says that "dark room retreats involve spending days to weeks in total darkness to foster deep meditation, self reflection, and spiritual awakening by removing all sensory input." Forty years ago I was not aware of this Buddhist practice on a conscious level and maybe was thinking about preparing myself for the possibility of blindness in old age? Who knows, but having redone the week blindfold experience 2 years ago,I realize now that I must have stuffed eons and lifetimes of fear, guilt and shame deep into my petite self because this last blindfold experience dug up dregs from a Steven King novel which took a year to clear psychologically, spiritually and medically. In the 80's, I was an artist merely making art. This last dark room experience was about life, not art. KIRAN JANDU'S MOVIE, CURATING AND REALIZATIONS FROM REDOING THE WINDOW PEACE FOR 7 HOURS Kiran Jandu and Susan Jahoda's invitation for me to join their tribute to Susan Kleckner has been a journey back in time that has allowed me to both measure my current art motivation, and to share the consequences of publicly preparing for death. That is , my work now is about rehearsing for the endgame. And what better way for an artist to have this opportunity to sort of appear dead, to lay down for 7 hours publicly and making sounds when needed, not to entertain, not to perform, not to shine! And again, publicly asking for help to go to the bathroom and to alert audiences what Chakra I will focus on, means that I need a collaborator this time Eddy Levin will be my nurse, midwife, death doula for 7 hours. Note how in 1987 I needed NOBODY!!!! But maybe I did and I'm sure the porta potty got cleaned but i have no memory of this. So this time, I am practicing the art of aging, the art of interdependence, the ART OF ASKING FOR HELP. Art heals and I am elated that my work is revealing my inner and outer needs and concerns so blatantly. KIRAN JANDU What a wonderful force of energy, nature and inspiration Kiran is! We met because of this event and I have watched how she has created a mighty and thorough tribute to Susan Kleckner. And I truly hope that everyone has an opportunity to view the video Kiran made of Susan coming into the window to visit me. I had an opportunity to honestly have feelings for my 45 year old self because of Kirans video, but also had an opportunity to "visit" via video with Susan Kleckner. Ohhh how sweet, how caring, how gentle, how protective she sounded. I am truly grateful to Kiran for creating this video because I could not only watch myself rub raw my tired closed eyes but it also allowed me to be uplifted by Susan's natural Compassion and Care for me. How has Kiran's video changed me? Window then, window now? For many many years, I have worked assiduously and deeply to integrate my own loving inner mother-self and I know my 7 hour experience in the window on March 20, 2026 (equinox) will reflect personally and publicly my new emotional availability. Thank you again Kiran not only for your magnificent tribute to Susan but I truly thanks you for the video look back and what it taught me. And the 2 days that Kiran will be in the 2026 window, blindfolded and 1 day in the gallery blindfolded becomes an exciting "passing of the torch" between us. Kiran gave me this opportunity to be at the gallery and we collaborated together in ways that I get to learn something new from Kiran's vision. Wonderful. 7 CHAKRAS My Guru from India, Shri Brahmananda Saraswati , introduced his students to the 7 Chakras and when I saw his Chakra chart, I internally knew that I would be a student of this wisdom for a long time. And in 1987 I was wearing all yellow, and living for a year in the 3rd chakra teachings, as a result, in the 87 window I was wearing all yellow and Susan and I referencedmthat when we talked about the color of the yellow orange juice. In the 2026 Seven Chakra Seven Hour re-enactment, I will be wearing white and black. I find this puzzling and the only reference I can make is that the Japanese jacket belonged to my mother and also reminds me of a past friendship with an Asian. In 1987, the only sounds I made were conversations with Susan and the other visitors who came by the window. Otherwise I stuffed my fears, loneliness and needs deep into my 45 year old brain. Silence. But this time I will be sounding the mantras associated with the Chakras, ONLY WHEN I WANT TO , and instead of holding fear, loneliness, joy, grief sounds, in, I will sound them out by chanting the 7 mantras, a different mantra every hour. The audience will be invited to sonically join me if they wish via Eddy and I moving through the space , holding the Chakra Mantra written on a poster. Why sound? My time studying Indian music with Anita Slawek, has allowed me to understand and feel the gift of giving sound to breath. So this time, although it is only for 7hours, I feel as if I am being truly PRESENT AND EMOTIONALLY honest. 39 years ago, I toughed it out. This time, I ask my art for Mother healing. THANK YOU DEAR SUSAN KLECKNER, ACTIVIST ARTIST THANK YOU PUBLIC TRUST AND ALL INVOLVED IN MAKING THIS TRIBUTE POSSIBLE. LINDA MARY MONTANO, SAUGERTIES NY MARCH 11, 2026.

ARTICLE “ THE SAINT OF SAUGERTIES”FROM CHRONOGRAM MAGAZINE by PETER ARON+MARIE DOYON

ARTICLE “ THE SAINT OF SAUGERTIES “ FROM CHRONOGRAM by PETER ARON +MARIE DOYON: 2025  

 

 https://www.chronogram.com/arts/the-enduring-art-of-linda-mary-montano/

Interview: On the Rope Project - Linda Mary Montano and Christen Clifford

 

RESUME OF LINDA MARY MONTANO by LIV CUNIBERTI

RESUME: LINDA MARY MONTANO by LIV CUNIBERTI 2025



Linda Mary Montano is a performance artist born in 1942, Saugerties, New York. Montano considers herself a living sculpture, and her practice is dedicated to blurring the boundaries between art and life incorporating themes including spirituality, medicine, death, humor, and the autobiographical. She studied sculpture at Villa Schifanoia, Italy, graduating with an M.A in 1966, and in 1969, she received an M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her performance practice has included endurances and the adopting of various personas; Bob Dylan, Paul McMahon and Mother Theresa. In 1973, she lived handcuffed to artist Tom Marioni for three days, and in 1983 she lived tied to artist Tehching Hsieh for one year in his Art/Life One Year Performance 1983–1984, 1983-1984. Her endurance work lasting 14 years— Fourteen Years of Living Art, 1984-1998— was an extended study of Hindu Chakras. In the 1970s, Montano also began incorporating video art into her practice collaborating with artist and editor Tobe Carey. Over 100 video works are in the collection of Video Data Bank. Between 1991 and 1998, she taught Performance at UT Austin, Texas. Her work has been included in major group exhibitions such as WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2007, traveling to MoMA P.S. 1, New York in 2008. A survey of her work—Linda Mary Montano: Always Creative—was presented at SITE, Santa Fe in 2013. Montano lives in the Art/Life Institute & Transfiguration Hospital, Saugerties, New York. 

Liv Cuniberti 2025

INTERACTIVE SONG TO ENDURANCE

 

INTERACTIVE SONG TO ENDURANCE

ENDURANCE, YOU ARE
SOMETIMES, BUT NOT ALWAYS:

JOY BUSTER

TIME DISSOLVER
VOW EMBRACER
FEAR INSTIGATOR
ANGER INDUCER
DANGER ENCOURAGER
MARTYR DUPLICATOR
SILENCE EMBRACER
EMOTION STIMULATOR
BUTTON PUSHER
PATIENCE MENTOR
ANXIETY INVITER
PEACE CREATOR
SHADOW REVEALER
WILL STRENGHENER
EGO BUSTER
TRAUMA REVEALER
TRAUMA HEALER
COURAGER MAKER
MIND TRAINER
END GAME REHEARSER

ENDURANCE: THANK YOU FOR
ALWAYS USHERING US
INTO THE UNSPEAKABLE
ROMANCE OF NOW.

Linda Mary Montano
October 2025