TYPOLOGY WITH FOUR WATER TOWERS, 1963/72 (combined 1976)
Four gelatin silver prints
Approximately 22 × 17 inches each
October 30, 2023
Beginning in 1957, Bernd and Hilla Becher focused methodically on photographing structures associated with the historic rise of global industrialization. They organized these photographs by type, and these typologies served to highlight not just the similarities, but the surprising range of idiosyncrasies to be found in purely functional designs, such as these water towers. Working in the German visual tradition of New Objectivity they rigorously controlled the light and perspective in their photographs so they would function as a document of the distinct forms, which they referred to as "anonymous sculptures".
The Becher's serialist work dovetailed neatly with the rise of Minimal and Conceptual art, leading to exposure and admiration in the broader art world. Their trailblazing work laid the path for many contemporary photographers, including their students Andreas Gursky and Thomas Struth, who firmly established photography's ability to be central to contemporary art and its concepts. Today the Bechers are embraced as modern masters of the medium, who offered both an important document of industrialization, as well as a roadmap of future artistic possibilities for photography.
