About this artwork
Andrea Fraser is a performance and video artist who has been regarded primarily as a pioneer of “institutional critique,” since she structures her work around existing museum practices and protocols such as gallery talks and welcome speeches. Although they often begin rationally, her performances progressively unravel, frequently devolving into discussion of eccentric topics or performances of taboo behaviors. Spanning more than a decade, the five works in the Art Institute’s collection are among Fraser’s earliest and most influential creations.
Welcome to the Wadsworth, which was commissioned by the Wadsworth Atheneum, documents a tour Fraser led there in April 1991. Rather than conducting visitors through the galleries, the artist takes them outside as she circles the perimeter of the museum campus, discussing the history of Hartford, Connecticut, as well as its fractured social and economic circumstances.
— Entry, Film, Video, New Media, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 35 (1), pp. 98–99.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Contemporary Art
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Artist
- Andrea Fraser
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Title
- Welcome to the Wadsworth: A Museum Tour
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1991
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Medium
- Color video, sound; 25 min. loop
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Credit Line
- Contemporary Art Discretionary Fund; purchased with funds provided by James Cahn and Jeremiah Collatz
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Reference Number
- 2008.84
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Copyright
- © 1991 Andrea Fraser
Extended information about this artwork
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