![]() ![]() ![]() However, Hsieh considers the self-perpetuation and subjection as a means of progress and autonomy in a homogeneous environment, indicative of Camus’ existential thought of embracing the futile predicament inherent to the human condition. Hsieh’s subjection to spatial and temporal constraint unveils the cultural construction and rationalisation of time that dominates within the society, often used as tools of regulation and bio-power upon individuals by hegemonic institutions. Similarly, Hsieh’s oeuvre reflects existential sentiment on the futility of existence, “ life is a life sentence”, and the endurance of “passing time” in life. Sisyphus the punished hero pushes a boulder up a mountain only to have it roll back down again day after day, serves as a metaphor for the meaninglessness of the human condition. Time Clock Piece can be interpreted as an ontological evocation to Albert Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus, reflecting on the absurd predicament of the human condition. Hsieh extended his philosophical ideas of the experiential nature of time and life, through the repetition of everyday industrial activities and routines. In an interview with Adrian Heathfield in 2009, Hsieh denied any autobiographical intentions in his works and was more broadly focused on revealing the human condition of ‘doing time’. Tehching Hsieh’s cultural and political identity as an illegal Taiwanese immigrant in New York is often brought to the forefront in discussions of his works. Hsieh’s durational performance examined the inherent human condition of spatial confinement and temporal regulation and constraint. The documentation of Time Clock Piece is indexical to the performance, serving as an apparatus for audiences to imagine the duration of Hsieh’s lived experience and materialising the passage of time. The measures and passage of time is signified and captured through the time-lapse documentation, transformation of Hsieh’s hair from shaven to long, and the moving hands of the clock. The durational aesthetic reveals the relationship between the culturally constructed ‘clock’ time and the ‘duration’ of a lived experience. The stills were compressed into a 6 minute silent time-lapse film, flashing 24 frames per second, a direct correspondence to the cultural measure of time. On every hour when Hsieh punches the time-clock, a single frame is taken on the film, amounting to 24 stills a day and 8760 in a year. Hsieh’s performance took place privately in his small New York studio, and was documented with a 16mm film camera, positioned ahead of Hsieh and the industrial time-clock. Tehching Hsieh’s, Time Clock Piece (One Year Performance 1980-1981) is a durational performance of Hsieh punching time cards into an industrial time-clock everyday on the hour for one year. ![]()
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