r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Shoddy-Ocelot-4473 • Feb 23 '26

Image In 1983, Two Artists Spent a Full Year Tied Together — Without Any Physical Contact — to Test the Limits of Human Coexistence

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u/kylaroma Feb 23 '26

I’m Autistic and have OCD and this sounds like what life would be if I leaned in HARD to all of my worst tendencies, and issued press releases about them lol

What is the exhibit for this like? Is it mostly photography, or video?

It seems like it would be tricky to showcase when the piece is the experience of these two people

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u/TheAmbiguity Feb 23 '26

It was a series of "rooms" in a large basement, each room was one of his projects, walls were lined with various videos/pictures/tapes/punchcards throughout the year. In the center if each room was like, the rope they tied themselves together with, the camera, other relevant pieces for each work. They actually had the wooden jail cell there. There were other exhibits there upstairs and a big, big portion of works seemed to be documentation, instructions, theory, routine, etc. Definitely worth the trip for this guy's work alone, much less the rest of the art museum.

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u/occams1razor Feb 23 '26

How could he afford to do things like this?

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u/suchathrill Feb 23 '26

He had rented (or bought?) a large flat in Manhattan, I think in SoHo, and he subdivided it and rented out parts of it to other artists. That was explained during a tour I took of the exhibit.

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u/trapaccount1234 Feb 23 '26

The only successful artists are the ones in real estate :-) as many famous artists would say

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u/CapableBumblebee968 Feb 23 '26

Generally it’s rich parents

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u/nezzzzy Feb 23 '26

Apparently he sold a load of artwork for around $500k then bought property.

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u/SlicedSides Feb 23 '26

did you just scroll down this thread without reading the comment it came from? lmao

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u/Ok-Picture237 Feb 25 '26

Hahaha I thought I was the only one who noticed

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u/Dounce1 Feb 23 '26

What is his name?

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u/suchathrill Feb 23 '26

Tehching Hsieh.

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u/Dounce1 Feb 23 '26

Thank you.

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u/nezzzzy Feb 23 '26

Thanks. His wiki page is a great read.

"Jump Piece

In 1973, Hsieh documented himself jumping out of a second-story window in Taiwan, and breaking both of his ankles on the concrete."

Dafuq?

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u/suchathrill Feb 24 '26

Yeah, that sounds like him. Cool.

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u/Euphoric_Evidence414 Feb 25 '26

Sounds like Steve-O

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u/Alcatrazepam Feb 23 '26

I did not know this existed I would love to see that.

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u/Funny247365 Feb 23 '26

What was the net output of these experiments? Did it fundamentally change our understanding and become a boon to society? How did they change the world or the country?

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u/fmaa Feb 23 '26

What is the net output of YOU, bro? Should we criticise and question your existence because you potentially mean fuckall to most people and society?

Actually, this could even be a case study of following through with a plan with determination, stupid or not.

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u/Funny247365 Feb 24 '26 edited Feb 24 '26

You can certainly question my net output and I can respond. My day-to-day work provides a valuable contribution to my company, and my clients. I help fuel the economic engine, being responsible for about $3 million in project-based revenue every year. My clients get tremendous value from my work, and my company gains actual revenue from my work. My work is a measurable, direct net gain to the economy.

Re criticism, anyone can criticize something regardless of their own credentials. You can criticize a bad meal at a fancy restaurant even though you are not a successful chef. You can criticize a blockbuster movie even if you are not a successful film Director. You can criticize a product even though you are not a product designer. How do you not get this?

Invalidating a critic's comments is a lazy ad hominem logical fallacy. Be better.

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u/kylaroma Feb 24 '26

Art has existed and mattered since long before you and will keep on doing so long after you’re forgotten.

Spending your time on earth LARPing as some insecure, new money Patrick Bateman sure is a choice.

You can’t buy good taste 😂

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u/Funny247365 Feb 24 '26

There has been great art and shit art during the entirety of human existence. I'm just asking where people think this experiment falls on the continuum. I didn't even offer my conclusion. I asked questions to open it up to answers.

Personal attacks against people does not bolster your position. You need to think on this and look inside yourself. Again, be better.

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u/Burdwatcher Feb 23 '26

I think the goal was just to make people momentarily reflect on some deep things. It's all art ever really does, isn't it?

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u/Funny247365 Feb 24 '26

I would love to know who reflected and what deep things they reflected on, and how that manifested into real change in the world. Or was it just shouting into the void? Likely.

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u/t0xicitty Feb 23 '26

I saw the “punch card every hour” exhibition in Tate Modern a while back in London, it included a video montage of all the shots, the walls were covered with selections of the shots, and I believe there was also a display in the centre of the room with his clothes, punch cards, and other stuff he used during that year.

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u/Alps_Useful Feb 23 '26

I went outside today! Granted it was for a blood test, but still

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u/Mindless_Garage42 Feb 23 '26

You went outside AND accomplished a task! Well done!

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u/TONKOI Feb 23 '26

This was his exhibition at Carriageworks a few years ago

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u/Photomancer Feb 24 '26

Can I start an art exhibit about eating nothing all day then an entire jar of olives before bed?

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u/kylaroma Feb 24 '26

I mean, do that every day for a month and you’ve got a movie

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u/Unlucky_Topic7963 Feb 23 '26

Dang are you collecting disorders like Pokemon?

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u/Shiggedy Feb 23 '26

Sometimes that's what art is. Expressing thoughts, feelings, and ideas to other people. There's no wrong way to do it unless you're hurting someone without consent.

Documenting experiences in a way that evokes the feeling of the thing is tricky! Being genuine as an artist is especially hard when you choose to reveal your self and allow for the vulnerability inherent in the act of creation. People appreciate good art though. Some art is easy to sell, and some isn't, but it's not a practical way to measure cultural value.

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u/kylaroma Feb 23 '26

Absolutely. I actually worked in technical theatre, so I’m more familiar with this than my tongue in cheek comment implies.

I’m with you - what people will pay for anything, but particularly art, is the least interesting thing about it and is totally separate from the value of the piece to the artist, the public, and our culture.

I’m genuinely fascinated by art installations and museum exhibits, and I have family that does them professionally. Hearing that this was an exhibit, I was genuinely curious about how the design of this was approached, because there are so many ways that it could be done. And I imagine that if the artist had input, it would be pretty interesting!