Andrea Fraser Down The River Analysis

Andrea Fraser saw what others could not see; she brings into light concepts and situations that cannot be seen with the bare eye, or institutional wrongs that noone dares to point out. For example, have you ever thought of the relationship between a jail and a museum? What about the blurred line between art and prostitution? In her recent exhibition called “Down the River” in The Whitney Museum, she converts her 18,200-square-foot given space, into a jail. Her goal is to make you see how museums and jails are two sides of the same coin. She wants her audience to think about how there is not much difference between the two. “Art museums celebrate freedom and showcase invention. Prisons revoke freedom and punish transgression.” - she says of her work. Once you think about it, it’s true; museums collect art, but prisons encarcerate vilified people. Fraser also invites her audience to create a conversation on how museums (institutions who celebrate freedom) and prisons (institutions that invalidate freedom) have been growing at the same rate. “Down the River” consists of a fifth floor with glass walls to overlook the Hudson River, ergo the title of the exhibition: “Down the River.” This location is because the Sing Sing Correctional Facility is just 32

That is the work of an artist, to expose what they want to expose and make the audience feel anything, even if it’s different from what the artist wanted to convey in the piece. ‘For me, one of the clearest signs that ‘Untitled’ is a successful piece is that it didn’t only upset people outside of the art world, but a lot of people inside the art world as well’ - Fraser says of her work. Nevertheless, regardless of the feedback, the film ‘Untitled’ (2003) is one of her most-known