Wunderbar Festival : : Mitchell’s Death

Mitchell’s Death

As a starter to the week that leads up to Wunderbar, we warm up with Linda Montano’s film Mitchell's Death screened in the iconic setting of the parish church of St Paul's in Jarrow and to mark All Saints and All Souls Day.

In Mitchell's Death, Montano mourns the death of her ex-husband, chanting every detail of her experience in the timeline from the news of his death through the subsequent events that unfold.

Linda Montano produces performance, exhibitions, videos, and books about the practice of living art. Originally trained as a sculptor, Montano began using video in the '70s. Attempting to obliterate the distinction between art and life, Montano's artwork is starkly autobiographical and often concerned with personal and spiritual discipline. She spent two years in a convent and studied Yoga and Zen.

In 1983, Montano and artist Tehching Hsieh were literally tied together for one year in a living performance. Her avowed interest lies in "learning how to live better through life-like artworks," with personal growth evolving out of shared experience, role adoption, and ritual. Exploring a wide range of subjects, from personal transformation and altered consciousness to hypnosis and eating disorders, Montano's work from the '70s and early '80s was critical in the development of video by, for, and about women.

Mitchell's Death (1977) is an early work, using performance as a means of personal transformation and catharsis. Every detail of her story, from the telephone call announcing the tragedy, to visiting the body, is chanted by Montano as her face, pierced by acupuncture needles, slowly comes into focus then goes out again. The chanting is reminiscent of Buddhist texts, while the needles signify the pain that is necessary for healing and understanding.

Based in New York State, Linda Montano has performed and shown her video work extensively throughout the US and beyond, including venues such as Chicago Art Institute, The Whitney and MOMA, New York and the ICA, London.
This screening is being shown at the parish church of Saint Paul, in Jarrow, to mark All Saints and All Souls Day.

All Saints's Day (also called All Hallows) is a solemnity celebrated on November 1 in Western Christianity and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity in honour of all the saints, known and unknown. All Souls’ Day, celebrated after All Saints, commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven.

St. Paul's is a working church, which visitors are welcome to explore. The church and its associated monastery are one half of the twin monastic sites of Wearmouth-Jarrow, home to St. Bede the Venerable, and is a World Heritage Site candidate. This project is part of a programme by National Glass Centre that highlights the Wearmouth-Jarrow World Heritage Site nomination.

For more information about St. Pauls and the Wearmouth-Jarrow World Heritage Site nomination visit www.wearmouth-jarrow.org.uk

Mitchell’s Death is distributed by Video Data Bank, Chicago, US

Image_Linda Montano, Mitchell’s Death, courtesy of Video Data Bank, www.vdb.org

Information

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Mitchell’s Death
Linda Montano

Saturday 31st October &
Sunday 1st November
10am - 4pm (31st) &
2pm - 4pm (1st)
St.Paul’s Church, Jarrow
Free Event
A Wunderbar Warm Up Event

Nearest Metro station is Jarrow

Access Notes:

Limited disabled facilities. For details please call National Glass Centre on 0191 515 5555.

Visit the artist's website
Visit the partner's website
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00_01_Mitchell’s Death
Linda Montano