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Little Linda's ability to be another was fascinating. It was both instructive and entertaining and without knowing it, a preparation for 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART. She was able to dissolve her personality into that of another and practice having what she wanted without having to really go through the actual training, work or sweat. For example some of the characters she portrayed published books, made record albums, were missionary nuns or had a martial arts black belt. She could be whatever she wanted: a jazz singer, [()] a French poetess, a nun, [()] a nun locked in a room for a week, [()] a man, [()] a priest, [()] and she could tell all of her sins from the balcony of a museum. [()] In short, she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Ummm. That made Little Linda smile sometimes, well actually, she didn't smile, her make believe self smiled. What a great game she was playing! Her collaboration with the composer Pauline Oliveros at that time was a deeply fertile interaction and chance for both of them to learn from and inspire each other. It allowed her to incorporate her real love, sound and singing, into her art in an even more conscious way. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s her Guru, Dr. Mishra taught, mentored and directed her toward meditation. Little Linda loved to shut her eyes and go deep down inside to a big silent and mysterious place. Sometimes lights were there, sometimes beautiful sounds. Wow, what a beautiful fairyland place that is. Little Linda spent hours and hours and hours there. She didn't care what it was called, Zen or Yoga or Centering Prayer, she just knew that she was in ecstasy and hungry for more and more and more. Pauline and Little Linda moved to a Zen meditation community for two years and had she not met the conceptual artist Tehching Hsieh she would never have left her "retirement". But his incredible history of endurance performances was so compelling, and the fact that he was looking for someone to be tied to him for a year for his next conceptual performance, pulled Little Linda out of maonastic life. She asked: "Can I leave the monastery and still be a Saint?" She was so scared that art might mess up her sainthood but she left anyway. She joined him in his piece titled "Art/Life: One Year Performance" in which they were tied together by a rope. (July 4, 1983 - July 3, 1984) [()] During that time they worked jobs, [()] were in the same room at the same time even the bath room for an entire year, never touching, they slept in separate beds, [()] and had visitors [()]. And man, that piece changed Little Linda a lot. She started growing art muscles and felt she scaled the art Olympics! Sometimes that made her achy and sore. WHAT LITTLE LINDA LEARNED FROM THE YEARS 1979 - 1984 1. Art allows the artist to grieve, mourn, act creatively schizophrenic and be publicly analyzed. 2. The staged dangers artists perform homeopathically prepare them for the real dangers of life. 3. Constant redefinition of the monastery is essential to soul health. 4. Being cautious and sensitive to giving credit to sources, teachers, the initial creators of concepts is a necessity but well-intended writers, the rumor-mill and media often get it all wrong. And so do we sometimes. So do the best you can and stay focused. Someone will always be mad about something you do, or leave out about them or include about them. Never be careless intentionally with intellectual property. And do learn from your mistakes. Respect your neighbor's work and mind! 5. We never really know if our "work" is pulling us toward or away from true contentment until twenty years after the fact.
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