Studio Series: Arturo Vidich

In Process Talks moderated by Stephen Greco

Vidich will show the substance of his current process, which involves experiential research with psychedelic drugs, the procedural narrative of flying airplanes, and the social practice of BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, Sadomasochism). In accessing these seemingly disparate activities, Vidich feeds an intuitive drive toward a totalizing art-practice. Inherent in these forms of risk-play is the condition of submitting to a power greater than oneself.

Pursuing his lifelong fascination with human-animal relationships, Vidich lays out an improvised “first date” scenario in which he plays the part of a wimpy dog. He surrenders control of his instrument to the interrogative forces of a Russian dominatrix, Anya Stern, who is cast as the performer's ego. She tests him, corrects him, and exposes his threshold for pain and exhaustion. Fluidly navigating between the fictive plane of negotiated consent and the stark reality of an electric cattle prod, Vidich attempts to externalize the ecstatic process of boundary dissolution through humiliation and the confrontation of fears.

Created in 2005 by Dance Theater Workshop and continued by New York Live Arts, the Studio Series is a research laboratory for physical explorations and new movement investigations with a focus on creative process. Each Studio Series artist receives a commission and 100 hours of creative residency time and is invited to conduct two informal showings. These in-process showings create a framework for the artist to share ideas with an audience in the intimate working space of the studio. Studio Series artists are curated by Artistic Director Carla Peterson in conjunction with New York Live Arts programming staff and guest curators from Urban Word NYC. This year’s Studio Series artists are Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Arturo Vidich, Antonio Ramos, Sidra Bell, devynn emory, Stacy Spence, Paige Martin, RoseAnne Spradlin, Vanessa Justice, Keely Garfield, Joanna Kotze, and Eleanor Smith.

Studio Series is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Jerome Foundation.