Tehching Hsieh

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Tehching "Sam" Hsieh (謝德慶; born 1950, Nanjhou, Pingtung County, Taiwan) was a noted New York City-based performance artist; he has been called a "master" by Marina Abramović. He no longer makes art.

1 Artwork
- 1.1 Artwork details
2 Philosophy
3 References

[edit] Artwork

He is most known for his One Year Performance pieces (these do not officially have names, but have nicknames):

One Year Performance 1978–1979 “The Cage Piece”
One Year Performance 1980–1981 “The Time Piece”
One Year Performance 1981–1982 “The Outdoor Piece”
Art / Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984 (collaboration with Linda Montano)
One Year Performance 1985–1986

Also a 13 year plan “Earth”, 1986–1999.

[edit] Artwork details

One Year Performance 1978–1979 “The Cage Piece”: September 29th, 1978 through September 30th, 1979.

Hsieh built a cage for himself in his Tribeca loft, and stayed in it for a year.

One Year Performance 1980–1981 “The Time Piece”: April 11th, 1980 through April 11th, 1981

Hsieh punched a time clock every hour of the day for one year. Each time he punched the clock, it took a single picture, which together yield a 6 minute movie. He shaved his head before the piece, so his growing hair reflects the passage of time.

One Year Performance 1981–1982 “The Outdoor Piece”: September 26th, 1981 through September 26th, 1982

Hsieh spent one year outside, not entering buildings or shelter.

Art / Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984 (collaboration with Linda Montano)

Montano and Hsieh spent one year roped to each other.

One Year Performance 1985–1986

For one year, Hsieh did no art, spoke no art, saw no art, read no art, did not enter any museum or gallery. Just went about life for one year.

13 year plan, “Earth”, 1986–1999.

At the beginning he declared: “Will make Art during this time. Will not show it publicly.” This plan began on his 36th birthday, December 31st, 1986, and lasted until his 49th birthday, December 31st, 1999.

At the end, on January 1st, he issued his report: “I kept myself alive. I passed the December 31st, 1999.”

[edit] Philosophy

Why one year pieces? First, because a year is long enough that the work is not simply a performance, but becomes life. Second, because a year is the longest (common) natural unit of time: “several years” is a human invention.

His pieces are not feats of stamina nor (consciously at least) motivated by a desire to suffer, but rather are explorations of time and of struggle.

His works easily admit readings as prison, work, homelessness, marriage, and finally, life.