El Licenciado Vidriera (The Lawyer of Glass) is a tale published in 1613 by Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes. The story narrates the life of Tomás Rodaja, a law student, who falls in love with a woman and drinks a potion she conjures, which in turn makes him delusional – convincing himself that he is constructed out of glass. Rodaja believes he is extremely fragile because of his imaginary condition, so much so that he was nicknamed “Vidriera”, the Spanish word for “Glass”, and requested to be carried around in a hay cart when attending events. But for all this eccentricity, Vidriera is more lucid than any of his supposedly sane critics, and his acute observations about the world around him are revealing of the contradictions and flaws of the society of his time. The project “Vidriera” is created after a performance with the same title and is a tribute to the artist Josiah McElheny.
 

Pablo Helguera

Pablo Helguera (b. 1971, Mexico City) is a visual artist living in New York. His work involves performance, drawing, pedagogy, installation, theater and other literary strategies. As a recipient of international grants and awards, he is often considered a pioneering figure in the field of socially-engaged art.

Helguera has been the recipient of many awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship and Creative Capital Fellowship, as well as the first International Award for Participatory Art in Italy. Coming from a family of classical musicians, his work has frequently involved musical elements. He has performed and presented his works in many international biennials and venues.

He is the author of many books, including Education for Socially-Engaged Art (2011) and The Parable Conference (2014). Currently, he is the Assistant Professor of Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at the College of the Performing Arts at The New School in New York. He writes a weekly column titled Beautiful Eccentrics.