punching the time clock in the hour, one year performance april 11, 1980-april 11, 1981
installation of documentary photographs, original performance relics, 16 mm film, 6:10 min.
image © designboom


tehching hsieh is best known for a series of year-long performances he completed between 1979 and 1986.
in each of these works, hsieh followed a simple set of rules, which over the course of an entire year, became
feats of endurance. these performances were recorded in photographs and statements of intent, which now
comprise the documentation of the work. hsieh spent a year in a cage-like enclosure in the corner of his studio
during which time he was not allowed to read, watch television, listen to the radio, or speak (1978-1979);
a year entirely outdoors (1981-1982); a year tied to fellow artist linda montano with a eight-foot rope,
during a year in which he ceased to make, view, or speak about art (1985-1986). in one year-long performance
(1980-1981), hsieh spent a year punching a time-clock every hour of every day, taking a photograph of himself
as part of his record keeping account. as spare and restrained as the work itself, the individual images register
the passage of time only through the progressive growth of hsieh's hair, which he has shaved at the beginning
of the performance. these separate portraits mark the passage of time like the monotonous beats of
a metronome, but, taken together, form a kind of timeline that is essentially a single, larger portrait of a year.



exhibition view
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exhibited photographs
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portraits of hsieh taken every hour for a whole year
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detail of punchcard
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detail of photographs
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detail
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exhibition view
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exhibited artifacts
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detail
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exhibited statement
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performance documents
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what hsieh wore for the full year he was documenting his performance
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card puncher with projected film
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timelapse film of the year