Tehching Hsieh
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Tehching Hsieh (謝德慶; born 1950, Nanjhou, Pingtung County, Taiwan) is a noted[1] New York City-based performance artist; he has been called a “master” by fellow performance artist, Marina Abramović.
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[edit] Early life
Tehching Hsieh dropped out from high school and started creating art in the form of paintings; he went on to create several performance pieces after finishing his three years of compulsory military service in Taiwan. In 1974, Hsieh jumped ship to a pier of Delaware River, near Philadelphia, and made a living as a dishwasher and cleaner during his first four years in New York. From 1978 – 1986, Hsieh accomplished five One Year Performances; from 1986 – 1999, he worked on what he called his "Thirteen-Year Plan". On Jan 1st, 2000, in his report to the public, Tehching Hsieh announced that he has kept himself alive. He stopped making art since then.
In 2009 the Museum of Modern Art in New York exhibited a collection documenting his performance[2].
[edit] Artwork
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He is most known for his durational Performance pieces:
- One Year Performance 1978–1979 (known as Cage Piece)
- One Year Performance 1980–1981 (known as Time Clock Piece)
- One Year Performance 1981–1982 (known as Outdoor Piece)
- Art / Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984 (known as Rope Piece, collaboration with Linda Montano)
- One Year Performance 1985–1986 (known as No Art Piece)
- Tehching Hsieh 1986-1999 (known as Thirteen Year Plan) which was his last work.
[edit] Artwork details
- One Year Performance 1978–1979 (Cage Piece): September 29, 1978 through September 30, 1979.
In this performance, the artist locked himself in a 11′6″ × 9′ × 8″ wooden cage, furnished only with a wash basin, lights, a pail, and a single bed. During the year, he was not allowed to talk, to read, to write, or to listen to radio and TV. A lawyer, Robert Projansky, notarized the entire process and made sure the artist never left the cage during that one year. A friend came daily to deliver food, remove the artist's waste, and take a single photograph to document the project. In addition, this performance was open to be viewed once or twice a month from 11am to 5pm.[3]
- One Year Performance 1980–1981 (Time Clock Piece): April 11, 1980 through April 11, 1981
Hsieh punched a time clock every hour on the hour for one year. Each time he punched the clock, he took a single picture of himself, 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 (Outdoor Piece): September 26, 1981 through September 26, 1982
Hsieh spent one year outside, not entering buildings or shelter of any sort, including cars, trains, airplanes, boats, or tents. He moved around New York city with a packbag and a sleeping bag.
- Art / Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984 (Rope Piece)
In this performance, Hsieh and Montano spent one year tied to each other with an 8 foot long rope. They had to stay in a same room while not allowed to touch each other until the end of the one year. Both of them shaved their hair in the beginning of the year, and the performance was notarized by the Paul Grassfield (at first) and Pauline Oliveros (at last).
- One Year Performance 1985–1986 (No Art Piece)
For one year, Hsieh did no art, spoke no art, saw no art, read no art, and did not enter any museum or gallery. He just went about life for one year.
- Tehching Hsieh 1986–1999 (Thirteen Year Plan).
At the beginning he declared:
- “Will make Art during this time. Will not show it publicly.”
This plan began on his 36th birthday, December 31, 1986, and lasted until his 49th birthday, December 31, 1999.
At the end, on January 1, 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 (though they have been described as ordeals[4]), but rather are explorations of time and of struggle.
His works easily admit readings as:[4] prison/solitude/confinement/interior, work/time, homelessness/exposure/exterior, marriage/human relations, and finally, life.
His last two works lead one to question[4] the relationship of life and art, and the effect of designating something as art.
Hsieh states his work is about "wasting time and freethinking"[5] ll
[edit] Images
[edit] Notes
- ^ Delia Bajo; Brainard Carey (Aug/Sept 2003). "in conversation: Tehching Hsieh". The Brooklyn Rail. http://www.thebrooklynrail.org/arts/sept03/tehchinghsieh.html.
- ^ Performance 1 on Artabase
- ^ Smith, Roberta (2009-02-19). "A year in a cage: A life shrunk to expand art". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/19/arts/19perf.php. Retrieved on 2009-02-19.
- ^ a b c Shaviro, Steven. "PERFORMING LIFE: THE WORK OF TEHCHING HSIEH". http://www.one-year-performance.com/intro.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.)
- ^ "Out of Now: Tehching Hsieh's lifeworks"
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Interview with Robert Ayers, April 2009: [4]
