Meg Duguid: Everyone is a Bathing Beauty
@ Museum of Contemporary Art
220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Opening Tuesday, July 27th, at 7PM
On view through Sunday, August 1st
Drawing from George Bernard Shaw’s classic play Pygmalion, with a Busby Berkeley twist, visitors may perform in short, scripted scenes playing the role of Henry Higgins, Eliza Doolittle, or a supporting character. On July 27, at 7 pm, a large-scale Busby Berkeley dance scene utilizing audience members is performed and filmed on the MCA Terrace. During the week, audience members are invited to act and are given cards with a description of a scene, along with a minimal costume that represents the character. Scenes are edited by Duguid and presented the following day on television monitors in the gallery, culminating in a finished work. By the end of the week, the silent movie features numerous visitors acting as Higgins’ and Doolittle’s of varying age, gender, race, and physical appearances.
This summer, the popular performative art exhibition Here / Not There returns, and asks how participatory actions within structured events can encourage a collective act of creation. The viewer, rather than the artist, is the focus as guests are encouraged to participate in performing and creating works. Remnants and documentation generated by the artist and visitors during each performance are on exhibit in the gallery for the duration of the week through the following Sunday. Visitors are invited to return to the museum throughout the week of each project to witness the results of their contributions. Through these four diverse performances, activities, and events, the artists and public expand an understanding of performance, visual art, and ideas of communal engagement.
« previous event
next event »