The artist Andrea Fraser will restage her performance May I Help You? (1991/2005/2011/2013) in the context of Louise Lawler’s exhibition WHY PICTURES NOW. When a visitor enters a gallery, he or she is usually politely ignored. By contrast, with Fraser’s work the visitor gets a twenty-minute monologue from a would-be employee, who in fact is an actor. Fraser assembled the original monologue from interviews with artists, collectors, gallerists, and individuals unfamiliar with art, and thus confronts the visitor with a full spectrum of different ways of engaging with art.
The performances will occur on a Member Preview day. A limited number of viewers will be given access to the exhibition galleries during the performances, and a wait line will be in place, as needed.