Program Notes - Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

equest can be personal or universal.
Chouinard’s performance brings to mind whiteclad
Pythia, the prophetess of Delphi. This
ancient Greek character delivered her prophecies
in a trance and a language that only priests
of the temple knew how to interpret.
As IN MUSEUM progresses, a personalized
reply emerges from each exchange between the
artist and her visitor, a free dance of dazzling
spontaneity. Between each interview, the dancer
takes time to refocus before embodying the next
visitor’s inner world and aspirations.
For Chouinard, the history of the Pythia and the
act of divination may remain a mystery, but the
inscription at the entrance to the temple of Apollo
at Delphi has lost none of its truth: “Know
thyself and thou will know the universe and the
gods.”
IN MUSEUM Performer: Marie Chouinard.
Photo: Sylvie-Ann Paré