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Linda Mary Montano Papers

Call Number

MSS.386

Date

1931-2021, inclusive

Creator

Montano, Linda, 1942-
Montano, Linda, 1942- (Role: Donor)

Extent

130.25 Linear Feet
in 162 containers, 1 folder in shared housing, and 2 oversize folders in shared housing

Extent

8.20 Terabytes

Extent

2 websites
in 2 archived websites.

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Linda Montano is a ground-breaking feminist performance artist whose work uses artistic ritual to focus on spiritual energy states and the removal of boundaries between art and life. Her early performances include "Handcuff" (1973) and "Three Day Blindfold" (1974). In 1983 and 1984, Montano participated in Tehching Hsieh's "Art / Life: One Year Performance (Rope Piece)," in which the two artists were bound to each other by a short length of rope 24 hours a day for a year. Montano's next work was "Seven Years of Living Art" (1984-1991), an endurance performance based on the Chakras -- work which has continued to the present. The Linda Montano Papers comprise performance proposals, professional and personal correspondence, drafts of published and unpublished works, creative writing, interviews, press and promotional materials, research files, personal and performance photographic material, artworks, work documenting collaborations with other artists, teaching materials, juvenilia and family-inspired work, costumes, selections from Montano's personal library, and both commercially released and non-commercially released media. The collection also includes an archived capture of the artist's website, which features her work and information about her. These materials document Montano's life as an author, teacher, and work as a performance artist for almost fifty years.

Biographical Note

Linda Montano was born in 1942 in Saugerties, New York. Raised as a devout Roman Catholic, Montano's childhood was infused with a blended influence of Catholic ritual and artistic endeavor. After studying at the College of New Rochelle for a year, Montano joined the novitiate of the Maryknoll Sisters. She left the convent two years later, suffering from anorexia, and pursued an arts degree from the College of New Rochelle, graduating in 1965. Both the convent and the disorder would later become part of her performance life.

During the '60s and early '70s, Montano developed an interest in performance art and graduated with an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1969. Her thesis project, "The Chicken Show," was later adapted and became her first performance art piece, "The Chicken Woman." Through the '70s, Montano's performances covered a variety of subjects, ranging from the influence of the Catholic Church on her life, to testing the boundaries of her physicality, and to the role healing practices can play in art. Montano's early performances include "Handcuff" (1973), in which she was handcuffed to artist Tom Marioni for three days, and "Three Day Blindfold" (1974). In 1983 and 1984, Montano participated in Tehching Hsieh's "One Year Performance," in which the two artists were bound to each other by a short length of rope 24 hours a day for one year.

In 1984, Montano began the performance "Seven Years of Living Art", in which she lived out the energy qualities of a specific chakra for seven years. Montano has also performed "Art/Life Counseling," at the New Museum and other venues, using palm, tarot, and psychic readings in order to respond to her subjects' problems in creative ways. Montano often appears and performs as Saint Teresa of Avila; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; Bob Dylan; Hillary Clinton, and Woodstock musician Paul McMahon.

Montano has taught performance art at numerous institutions, most notably at the University of Texas at Austin. Her time there resulted in her book, Letters from Linda Montano, edited by Jennie Klein. In addition to teaching, Montano has written several other books, including You Too Are a Performance Artist, ART IN EVERYDAY LIFE, and a book of interviews entitled Performance Artists Talking in the Eighties.

Source, http://www.lindamontano.com/artist-bio/

Arrangement

This collection is arranged and described at the file level, and its arrangement is based on the artist's original order. Original folder titles were maintained where possible; files without original titles were named accordingly. More information on the artist's original divisions can be found in the Scope and Content notes at the series level.

Oversize materials, objects, and media were removed from their original locations to allow for adequate housing and preservation and can be found towards the end of the finding aid.

The Linda Montano Papers are arranged into 10 series:
Series I: Art Practice
Series II: Inspirational People and Collaborators
Series III: Correspondence
Series IV: Teaching
Series V: Family and Juvenilia
Series VI: Commerically Released Media
Series VII: Non-commercially Released Media
Series VIII: Data Storage
Series IX: Objects
Series X: Library
Series XI: Restricted Files
Series XII: 2021 Accretion
Series XIII: Archived Websites

Scope and Contents

This collection includes performance proposals, professional and personal correspondence, drafts of published and unpublished works, creative writing, interviews, press and promotional materials, research files, personal and performance photographic material, artworks, work documenting collaborations with other artists, teaching materials, juvenilia and family-inspired work, costumes, selections from Montano's personal library, and both commercially released and non-commercially released media. The collection also includes an archived capture of the artist's website, which features her work and information about her. These materials document Montano's life as an author and teacher, and her work as a performance artist for almost fifty years.

Series I:

Series II:

Series III: Correspondence includes letters and postcards sent and received from students, fans, and other artists. The correspondence in this series is primarily of a personal nature. Business correspondence can be found in Series I, Subseries A.

Series IV: Teaching includes syllabi, course evaluations, term papers, and theses primarily documenting Montano's professorship at University of Texas at Austin. It also includes performance art and writing related to the tenure process at UT: Austin.

Series V: Family and Juvenilia contains diaries, certificates, scrapbooks, and materials related to family members and Montano's time spent at a convent between 1960 and 1962.

Series VI: Commercially Released Media contains both audio and video materials.

Series VII: Non-commercially Released Media contains audio, video, and film materials primarily related to Montano's performances.

Series VIII: Data Storage contains DVD-R, CD-R, and floppy discs, primarily related to work on Montano's books. Related paper material can be found in Series I, Subseries B.

Series IX: Objects contains artworks, woodcuts, and costumes.

Series X: Library contains books, periodicals, exhibition catalogues, and other print material owned by Montano.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Linda Mary Montano Papers; MSS 386; box number; folder number or item identifier; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.

To cite the archived website in this collection: Identification of item, date; Linda Mary Montano Papers; MSS 386; Wayback URL; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.

Location of Materials

Some materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to NYU Libraries in 2013; the accession number associated with the original donation is 2013.386. An accretion to the collection was donated in 2015; the accession number associated with this accretion is 2017.092. An accretion to the collection was donated in June 2021; the accession number associated with this accretion is 2021.015. An accretion to the collection was donated in October 2022; the accession number associated with this accretion is 2023.031. Montano donated a further accretion in December 2023; the accession number associated with this accretion is 2024.010.

http://www.lindamontano.com/ and http://lindamarymontano.blogspot.com/ were selected by curators and captured through the use of Archive-It. Archive-It uses web crawling technology to capture websites at a scheduled time and displays only an archived copy, from the resulting WARC file, of the website. Th accession number associated with these websites are 2017.018.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Born-digital and some audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers.

Take Down Policy

Archived websites are made accessible for purposes of education and research. NYU Libraries have given attribution to rights holders when possible; however, due to the nature of archival collections, we are not always able to identify this information.

If you hold the rights to materials in our archived websites that are unattributed, please let us know so that we may maintain accurate information about these materials.

If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found material on this website for which you have not granted permission (or is not covered by a copyright exception under US copyright laws), you may request the removal of the material from our site by submitting a notice, with the elements described below, to the special.collections@nyu.edu.

Please include the following in your notice: Identification of the material that you believe to be infringing and information sufficient to permit us to locate the material; your contact information, such as an address, telephone number, and email address; a statement that you are the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed and that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and made under penalty of perjury; and your physical or electronic signature. Upon receiving a notice that includes the details listed above, we will remove the allegedly infringing material from public view while we assess the issues identified in your notice.

Related Materials

A.I.R. Gallery Archives, MSS 184

Artists Space Archive, MSS 291

Exit Art Archive, MSS 343

Franklin Furnace Ephemera Collection, MSS 206

Group Material Archive, MSS 215

Public Art Fund Archive, MSS 270

Collection processed by

Emily King

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-02-06 14:23:01 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Processing Information

Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2019 are unknown. In December 2019, conservators rehoused objects in Series IX.

In 2021 an accretion was added as unpublished Series XII, which includes audiovisual material, born-digital carriers, and paper. This material was placed in box #s 120-136 and a folder in a shared oversize box. Paper material stored in labeled plastic shopping bags was removed and placed in folders, transferring the bag label title to the folder. Creator-supplied titles are displayed in brackets on the folder. Material was placed in appropriatelly-sized boxes and folders. The photographic slide collection stored in metal carrier boxes were placed in record cartons. Forty-nine born-digital carriers including 48 CDs and an external harddrive were numbered and labeled.

In 2023, additional descriptive and administrative information were added for the archived websites to make compliant with DACS and local standards.

In 2023 and 2024, accretions of photographic prints, notebooks, manuscripts, and publications were rehoused in archival boxes and folders, and intellectually integrated into the collection's existing arrangement structure.

Revisions to this Guide

July 2017: Updated by Shirin Khaki to include materials from accession 2017.092.
August 2018: Updated by Anna McCormick to include bibliographic materials formerly separated from the collection.
November 2020: Record updated by Weatherly Stephan to reflect rehousing of Series IX
June 2021: Updated by Stacey Flatt to include materials from accession 2021.015
February 2023: Updated by Nicole Greenhouse for updated administrative and descriptive information
April 2023: Updated by Rachel Searcy to reflect 2023 accretion
February 2024: Updated by Rachel Searcy to reflect 2024 accretion

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012