Linda Montano

A strange, epistolary and revisionist musical adaptation of Wuthering Heights written by the consumptive brother Branwell Brontë. When Branwell - the ne'er-do-well, tubercular brother of the Brontë sisters - discovered that Emily was writing her first novel, he offered to be her editor. Once he realized that he was the model for the alcoholic Hindley Earnshaw character, he reimagined the story as a musical memoir of his own life with Hindley as the hero. Reconstructed from Branwell's letters to his friend Francis Leyland along with notes, sheet music and damaged film fragments - this 1898 film originally premiered on the 50th anniversary of the consumption deaths of Branwell and Emily Brontë.

From 6 P.M. on July 4, 1983, until 6 P.M. on July 4, 1984, Tehching Hsieh and Linda Montano were tied together continuously with an 8-foot rope which passed loosely around their waists and was sealed at each end. Their intention was not to touch each other except accidentally—about 60 brush-bys and one brief hug by Montano occurred during the year. They slept in separate beds a few feet apart. When one showered, the other waited outside the door, but aside from this they were never in separate rooms. Both remained celibate for the duration. This film was shot on black-and-white super 8mm. [Overview courtesy of Artforum]

A call and response to impermanence.

Using performance as a means of personal transformation and catharsis, Mitchell’s Death mourns the death of Montano’s ex-husband. 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.