Official Welcome is a performance in which Andrea Fraser reappropriates the ritual of the official speech and award ceremonies for artists, deriding the stereotypical attitudes and speeches of the representatives of the “art world”. Andrea Fraser arrives to rounds of applause, in a black suit, with her hair swept back in a chignon. She approaches the lectern and starts speaking into the microphone. Firstly, she describes the situation in which she finds herself : there she is, on the point of accomplishing one of the rituals that she discusses in her work. Then she politely cites the names of her assistants and the personnel from the museum who are hosting her. Suddenly, her posture changes and her voice alters. She acts tough, her gestures become more forceful and she starts referring to herself in the third person. Andrea Fraser rapidly plays out a succession of attitudes and characters. Adopting that of a political artist, her speech becomes lyrical and her tone urgent. Switching again, her voice becomes languid. She then starts to stammer, playing the role of the hesitant artist. Slumped over the lectern, she becomes less talkative, but full of vanity. She slides into the obsequious discourse of a museum director that then leads into that of a depressive artist. She continues with a more personal speech as she takes off her blouse, striking poses as she continues to undress slowly. All of a sudden, she adopts the assertive tone of a masculine voice, becoming a rebellious artist and insulting the audience. Andrea Fraser then acts out a series of stereotypes of art collectors and artists with problems. Progressively, she takes off her underclothes and high-heeled shoes, exposing herself naked to the audience, then puts her clothes back on, continuing her eulogy in tears, and, for no apparent reason, stops, thanks the audience and leaves the stage. The effectiveness of this performance is based on the artist's masterly interpretation, ranging from excellent imitation to excess, as well as on the discourse that she delivers, meticulously constructed from extracts of theoretical works, official texts written by the heads of major museums, or artists' declarations. Official Welcome was created in November 2001 at the MICA Foundation in New York. This performance was repeated in 2003 at the Kunstverein in Hamburg, and at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2009.

Laetitia Rouiller
Translated by Anna Knight