Bernd and Hilla Becher
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Bernd and Hilla Becher
N.':
.- ..... ..
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, l!\o. " ...:..._ 4,,,,
--_....,.. ..
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.. can br COI'rU<I byW IIIjUJUbk(r""l .llld
fOfsca;""s of the amen.
During dwfi 1"cwJCUIo forfin.anrial fCUIS, the
Ihcnftllldcd to with jusl oee tel orcquipmcnl,bur
lOr llWIJyon now rhcy hl O'C owncd
llUbIi ng them to ""'"' inckJkil4mrlyol"CJdI Olber diffCT-
CIlr mOons inone>Jld dwumc pbnl or diffcrcnl pL>a:s
>I1ll1fthcr." when -X;ngon sWroId.ing or rools wbcrc t""
_ 0( lripod or hC")'Qmcns is simply"", pauiblc, lhey
II5C 0 QJDCT;l rhlt iseuicr 101ufldlc.'"TbcydDWuetcbcs
(figs. s'--s6lor uIrc l'OluoicU or JSrnm lheir firs!
,
... f>-i7'-....... ... ......,..,...
.;' '':'''\. '",:.1::' , So
---...;,-- bI' _..., __.. ...
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..
xui!)'of Ihedelails rharthe jechers require. Dep"'ndlng on
Ihe iniri.:ll condirions, the exposure limescan be as long as a
minul. or mor., and in fact Bernd and Hilla Ilher once lal-
ed 1h.:U Ihe a""rage specificallons were an exposure tim. of 10
sond. al an ap"' rture of 45.""
Bbckandwhile pholography is parI of ,he sp"'dficaes-
lhelia of Ih. Bechers' oeuvre. If wedraw on Malraux's
nOlions On lhe museum," ,hen Bernd. nd Hilla
Becher can definilely beconstrued as working ,b. ' radilion
of Ihe duod.pi nion of sculprures.According 10 Malraux,
lhr...-dim.nsional Sl ructuresare much more f. llhfully..pro-
ducedin blackand-while Ihan in Ihe diff.rentiared colorsof
a living painting. Moreover, black-and-while phOlography
. mph sizes Ihe of differen, objecu of represcnu
lion if Ihe rcprodu" ionsare all prescn' ed on one and Ihe
Um. pag.: works Ib.tlareas In,ri nslcally differenl
as l.:I.pc5lrics,gIass windows' miniatures, panel painti ngs, and
SlaNes bl.nd 10 fonn a family," he commen...'" How.,. r,
while Malraux also notes that lhe specificqualities of a work
u n be: abandl>ned in favor of viSll3lizlng a StyliSlic communi-
!)' , astan bediscerned from thelossof thefonnal In a piclure
I>r Iholume of. sculprure. these questionsarc rcsol,ed in
IheBech. rs' oeuVl"c by Ihe relianceon COnSUl'l l condilions for
. achshol and . form.l/aeslhetic pictorial concepl Ihal
oblains for all im.ges. In Ihis way 'heycreate Ihecondillons
for ordering differen' objecu to formseriesallhough Ih.
indi'ildu. l mo, ilS m.y h.'e bttn taken al comple.e1y di ffer-
enl p"in15 in 'ime, Precisely the p. incipleof cons..ney in Ih.
r.presenra';on and Ihe useof groups or seriesempbui zes lh.
specific quali!), of cuh mo,if.
Th. Bech.rs' chl>iccII> restri" 'hemsel,es '0black-.nd-
whir. photography dares back II> Ihe earlier daysof Iheir col-
I.bora';on. Inili.lly Ih. d", ision wasbasedon developm.n..
in Ih. medium ilself, for when Ihey..anc<! ou' on , heir proj-
ocr colorphotographs in Ihe qualilJ ,heydesired were hardly
possible. Th. sholS would h.ve been verycosdy 10 prinl and
h"e taken long lime, meaning thnrhe ide. oflong-Ierm
serieswould not he born frui" Moreo' er, by loday's Slan-
d>rd. lhe pap"'r usedfor color prin.. was hardly durable and
wl>uld b.t>'C led in Ih. courseof only a fewyears 10 severe aes-
Ihetic discrep.ncies in the color scale. ThaI said ,h.... were
not only I",hnical reasons for ,h. Ilhel'S eschewing Ihe usc
of color pholography,somClhing Ih.1 asoh he '9SO'l 11 ,he
!alesl was maner of courseamong Ihdr srud.nl.! in Ih.
School," and was also usedby many olheccon.. mpe-
raryarlis... The Becher! wanled toensure, hal all ,he objCCl.S
photographed were and Ihd' e..'erll<ll .pp"'aJ'-
anee.long wilh aUlhe deUlils legible, and ,his called for.
cle.r weighling oflhe values in each inug., . nd rheyIh.....
foreendeavored 10 a. oid all predominan. sh.pes or cl>lors
Ihar could dislraCI from the morif, such as' blue skyor .
gr...n field, conlrasli ng wilh lhe likewise usu.lly colorful
indumi.l buildings. However, there were ' fewexp"' rim.n w
exceplions. In '97" for example, the m'gn inepriJlIUl
broughl oul an article on the Bechers' work Iha' no, only pre-
sented Ihe bladc-and-whioc pholographs for which IheyWet .
known bUlalsosevencolor i1IuSturi ons of various induSllW
buildings. including One used for Ihe f,onl coverjfig.
Thi. example mayserve to highlighl ,he fact ,Ita, .he Bcchen
h.ve conti nued ' 0focw on r..her ,ban color
pholography 10 lhe present, nO' b:>useof some general
...jfflion of lhe laner, but in order '0prcss wilh ,h.ir
ov.. ptoject asoriginally defined.
In addilion to lhe cameraequipment . nd lhe choiceof
film m.terial, Ihedesired im.ge qu.lil] dep"' nds alsoon. be
n..ural ambient lighl. E<lch motif is, as fat as possible, phi:>.
lographed under Ihe same oondi.ions.
Sunshine and yel diffused ligh' create the mOSI f"orable
condilions in lhis as Ihey.void shat p shadowing .Ita,
candillort lh. outl ine o( an object, elide detailsor compete
wilh lhe nuin shap"', There is thus no place here for cloud
formalions such as were used in carly!andscap'" pho'ography
in a dramaticv. in 10 emphasize Ihe symbolic significanceof
ll<llU...'S p"wer. Bycont.asi. Ihe nClltnl background predom
ill<lll:5, wilh Ih. conl. asl chosen such ,hal tbe sky docs
not radiate more Slronglythan Ihe mOli f Fo. mod(s,.
lighter background is Ihus chosen and (or lighter mori(s.
darker background required. By means of filters, on theone
ltand lhe cont.".. between an objcct .nd hs background can
be lessened, . nd, on Iheolh.r, dear imagesshol If ee skyis
hny.
The mosl intensive months for ,heir work were In
. pring, when ,he natural rondi' ion' Wl're bc:s ' for ade<juue
:unb;eo,lighriogaod Irsorbush", have fewlu v.., rhu,
reveal iog wi.... li ", behiod ,hem. As , he work notes k.pt by
Ikrodaod Hillas echer highligh" in ccr<;>; n= Ihoyh.d 10
.... ifici.lIy irnprov. , h. viewof a molif. Thi, was ofton n""....
wy in pbn,. ,h.. lud bccndoscd down and n. lu re Iud
wilhin. fow mon, h. roconquerod the ter<;>io.
The Bechers' phomgr>phs .ro also rypifiodby the slightly
<>i sod v. n..ge poin, fromwhich thoy..e <>ken . nd whieh i.
l\OttS53l)' in p.>f11",1:u if Ihe mo,iri. v.ry high, as il ofT.."
theconvergence: of ,he ver' iallin", . nd Iherd'are allow. for
311 undill Ollod po"uy.l of ,he romple'e 5C>le of the r..poe-
odifiee. The <;>isedvanuge poin, pi".. the horizon, p"' r-
ce:p,iplofromeye lOYd onlyas line, ;n a qu.liu,iv. rolalion-
shipto , he . Ctual viewof Ihe obj""" " 'rhe n.. . urfa,
visuolly exp.>ndi ng ;n,o Ih. depths, OltelLlibly0p"'''' out .nd
' Ppelors .. . b>eking inlOwhich Ihe obj""l is evenlyembed-
ded. And ,he Bochers . Iw.y, elLluro Ihar Ihechoiceof vantage
poinl, i.. .. , hechoiccof a fron..1or p"'!Sprcrival view. i. di..
l1,rd bycondi' ionson ,i 'e. On. of ,he nol.. Hilla Socher
made on IOQ,ion i, india tlve of rhis: W. nOlicod v.ry
beaUli ful winding 'ow.., from.round rhe turn Oflhee. ntu-
ry, wi, h deH",'e $Inll nd rounded..ch.. and . double iron
roof- i' ",n be phologn phed from . hill opposite without . ny
distortion, .hhough , he ..me hill is to befound on the ol hcr
,ideof' hebuilding, $Olhu half,he I=kground isgrun
wood, .nd even using a gru n filter we canno"h..dore set
,he rrddish brown winding 10w.rofTfrom the b..:kground,
Th. re .ro, how....., no probl.ms .. rcg..d he p"' rspcctiv. 1
viow."
Ahhough Bo. nd . nd Hilla Bocher have for m.ny yrs
been phologl<lphing indepondendy.a cer...in di vi,io n of
Labor while working on Ih. projt ha' persisrod. While
g.,nd lkeher ronnlrat.. mor. strongly On"' ptur ing the
objocI phologr>phically, Hill. Sochcr handles mosr of rhe
Lat.r laboratory tasks, . Irhough this di vi.ion i. ooly. uporc,
<ill. The <hoi of mol if, . nd v.nt.g. point, . nd even the dis'
Ission of th. quoliryexpcclrd in th. prin" arc essenti.lIy
,heproduct of.n inte",iv xchang. of informIlion, cflcng-
. ..nding expori.nco, and a mutu.lly <h. mpioned conpt.
No, everyshot thoytokeends up being indudod in a series.
__
n'"I'
The decision for Or . S'io$l a mo,i f and , hus for its furth.r
processing occurs in thelab 0 fl" srudying , he fir"
cnl. rgemen'" Each negativei, inlri. lly.....sed10 "1iIb11,h
what informion the im.ge imp nd , hen pro<:.....d"
wilh. viewto maximi,ing ,he m g.ll ",,,i... The labou
torywork Ihu, indudes bo' h defining , he rcsprcriv. "".ion
of the picture and possiblopre-exposure , im.. or p.>ll i. l
post-exposure during enl"gem. nl. For ,h. Soche.., no
extreme .nl.rgem.nu of de..ils or louching up is pormis,;-
bk. Ide. lly, Ih. fonn.. of ,he neS',i ve <orrespond, '0 rhe
1.I.r croppedsec.ion.
Since Ihoy firslst:l flod <oILabo"" ingon , he proj!, Bernd
.nd Hill. Soch.. luveused Agf. R""o.d R.>pid orromp.uble
1)'1'"' of p.>pcr. This offers ' wide nnge of lonalili.. . nd is
usedlogelh. r with ,wo d.vd opcrs, rhe 0... hu d.. 10. mph. -
size Ihe ron"..IS, the 0...,' sofler to reguble Ih. inl.nsil)' of
sharp ront rases. B.l l)' <'> p'p"'r is avail. ble in four gn dations
from which th. Sochers <hosed'p"' nding on rhe
m.nlS ... by, he r><g>., ive. Sin ,h nd of Ih. 197<'$. Ihe
p.pcr fo rnur ,heypref. r for compiling Ihe.holS asu blcallJ
has been 30x.... rmor 40x 30em, d. pcndiog on whether the
vol ume of the obj... calls for a bndSCl poor . portratt form..
for ,he . nbrgemenl. Wh.n presenting individual pholO'
gl<lph....ungrd in groups of mol if. n.xIIOone .nolh ,
p'por si, od Sox 60cm or6o x so cmis..ken, whtlerhe indi-
vidull prinlSlfe m. de in rdil;ons (>f five, rhe , mall. t form.1S
used for .re unique .nd . re enlarged wi,h viow
'0 ,he homogenei.y of the s<ries of which 'hey will b.: pan.
The .emin rov..'" by Bcrnd Hilla s.chcr for ' heir
projw iseon"n,,,"'" on mines, iron and "",,1
and roking pl. nlS, lime kilns, eemen! works. gravel
pbnlS,U well 15power 10produCi ion f:Ki l-
iii.., for example in the 3ut Oindusfry. fhe 'hapes of fhe ed;-
liees by industry arc far more inde pendenl and
fhe range oflargC-$ClIe recbnlcal iosullations far mOre
diverS<. The geographical focus has bn On Europe', "cb,
sic" namely Belgium, Engb nd. Fran"".
Luxembourg, and the NClherland"and l. le.Nonh
America. Thel imiUlion 10Europe a" d Nonh Amcriea is nOl
fhe produ of some exp ressroncep lually dri",,, decision.
The scope :lJld geographical exfension of the duo', lrayels
wu ..u her defined byeconomiccriter ia and nOl leul by lhc
.,rain of fr.ve1.
In rhe .bovc-menlioned countries rhe s.chers havecho-
sen lowork in , he pro.orypical indUSlfial regio"s, ln
Germ.ny, fOl eumple, , hey ha", traveled in Ihe Siegcrland
and .1>< Ruhr Region, Ihe ' reu which were the focus of
'he projecl in Ihe ...rlyyears. In .he United Stales, Ihey have
ron",n, ra,ed on rhe mini ng regions of r ennsylyania. Wesl
Virgini., and TennesStt, whercu as regards Ihe Sf"") indus,
, hey op,ed . Isofo' Ohio. Indiana. Illinois. and AI . bama, ph
'ographing pr inu'i lyin or'" where growlh wu a Ihing of
, he pur. SinceGerman unificalion in 1989. fhe Bcehe.. ba"
bttn able '0 ex,end ,hei r projcelfo include e"Urn Genna,
and ....,ern Europe. The choiceof mOtifS llCre h.. been
informed neirher bysome interest in picturesque indumia
regions ,h.. were impotlanl in the pUI bUla" now almosc
enlirely d...d, nor in indUSlfi. larchiclUrc lhal isoulilanC
ing in lerms of ('lI llu,,1 hinory and were in par' " .,ed by
renowned ."hi.C(:l$. Inst ead rhey haye focused on Ihose
pl:lJllS II,. ,. in rerms of the Sl'= of rhe Slructuralenginccr
ing,liued disce.nibly io,o the extended hi" oryof lechnole
k.l developmen' .nd arc srillscnve Ot can b.: ponraycd in
Ihe origin.1 ron"xl in which rhey functioned-here we can
dCll one of , he key par.mcrers behind the Ilhers' crileri
of seleclion. The choiceof mOlifs is in other words based on
forrrul :lCSrhcric"i'cr; nd i. no, only indebled 10 SOme
qU:lJll iu,i", documenu<ion in the seose of an
lin ing of.1l jndu",;. l objectS.. hand.
8. Syt,tem.tic Photographic Documentation
!lmld :and Hilla Bhtr', WOI'k anmmri.al.ly'" ",bdirickd
infO <hili!dilfaall ror- ofrq>I"'Cl'Itarion. nw: fin<<;.IIflO'"
ryCl'lCllftlF"'C' i=pin wllidld>t: sub;t " pIwxaznpIxd
in ios(llrimy.md l1ka upd>cfull fo.tn.ltofd>c fnmc. Tbr
diffmn' Jiza:of d>crapcniw""t.pu;an <h... (utiflCWly)
at&a br a mlllCl'ion in JQk, moning thaI a' tMkvd of d>c
inuK" a funhcr "an'OIl f... amnging ,he lDJ.'rrWJ in
compuarit crw""'" Kria.. In rh.is Cllrg<>IJl.a put of me,
M!.roundinp " kfl Yisibk in onkr fO rd"ama tM"nK-
fIlJl" , posi' ior\ in ,he con'C'l1ofilS m"; ronmm, (fop.]'5,
Tbt_d shou.. Thes.o include.
for de tail, of ' he Io>d........ring SlrueturCS of wind-
ing ' owers 01 phologrophs of k")' fUrKIion.1c1em. nts in bIn,
ful1UCl'lI and rcfineria (figs.
Tile . kird <>,"&O'yindudes pko' oyapk. in whlek tk.
subjects a,e p,ese nte d in the bro.d.r COn," x' of ,hei, enyi-
IOllmen,. Unlike the ; nd iYidu. 1. hol$, 'hose o.erall yicwJ
highligh" he m un ural organi....tion of a it
10 bea oomplcx compoKdof diffe unt inte rconnmOll ( UJlCo
' ionil uni ts.- Some of ,,,",,, pllnts b.ad gro",n .0beoomc
conglomemcs tt.a, ......e a1mos, a ries;o their ownright and
"'Ilichformed a completpatW oornpla within the ul'b.an
.. _..... ...
Klling or in thecounll}lide. Tbr Boc:hcn 11K,he teml Y
..,.10awn oYttall ""'" rhlt ,onI , he m;pcniYO: iodUllri-
aIobject :and '''' m";ruo.mmt. Ih", offmng a from lbc
OlIl$ickof dKpbnt '" a whole 'p<"king. for rumplc.of
III funua bnIkcop-.- By-rlll
illUflnlion, rwo "'"" w.min 197' oflhc bIw funua ill
Montignics in CIwIcroi.lldcium. show,he di/fo=ntt.
While me, firu shot (fig. Isl b" me, on
purdy funcrioru.l uni, . d>cKCOnd al.cn
from a poiot outside,he..orb, 'bows die rcar oflbc
plan, with me, <>djxont howes. ,ilhoua.. of tMbUst
fuf1Y<t compktc: ",i, h chim...,. hochlast s_and blast
fu,,,.,.., hoods. crted in . Jlagg.:, OIl row right ncx1 10 one
:lIIothe., condenses 10 for m a m .nge ind ustrial h.lckdrop
lowe ri ng up in l he countryside.
The o..,rall . iew. expand in eeruin cues ,oform
p:llloramie . hou {sec fig. 67} rtnde. with . peci. l clarity
h"", . n industrial plom can Krow '0 form c;tyiikc ronglom
t .... i n its own righl. E. er si nce the Bechers emba rked On
, heir project. they k .., used .. forms of photographic
rc<:ording equ. lly. wi, h the . holJ ofisoln cd ob;cas funni ng
the hcdnxlc fOl the rompil.nion of rypologics.
Mahodologically spuking. when sccking 10 photograph-
ially rc<:ord indi>idual ob;et:ts by.hooting them from
<IUSanglcs.,he Boc:hcn cu.a.. see, on d>c IJI'Cof
_ .. _ ... __CooiolIl
Gl ...._,_.......
_ .._ _ .... _Go........
Ilfll(lure and lhe 10011ccndlrions, Berndand Il illl llccher
produo;c sell of three, foul, six, or eight difTe""nt .iews of the
same object. when later arranging lhe sequenceof , he series.
:II if lhe individual sholl were linked 10 forma film. the
motif ""m:>i ns langible ;1.1a lhrcc-dim(l\$ional body.even
dlough illwbeen lransposed inlo d.e !WO""dimeruional
IIl/Illiumof pI>otograph" while Ihree viewscaplure ,he basic
(IlOfl!i.....lesof an objccl- Ihc from , heside (in pro-
filrOl and a shoeofone andlWOsid.,. (per-
I -I i',
i I
, I
. , '-1
,
poaibl< on . he ,ide willi InC ( n'Dn (10 ,hc(" uen, rhar ves-
.monsuppaning StrucNres th.. tu", no Ut... d.dding arc
I.. In this w'1 tht)' are ' ble tooffer anindl wionof
me: laicof the building in le. ml of it! ovc..n "dght.
c:,I,W th., ' ,e pri m..il, cubic in sh.pe. otJ(h. co.l
...... 1Kpramfcd i n . , ICUf lWO different views, the one
froDul, . beod.., in
F -,.mtdlfim(Ihis group includes..mong od...
1Wap. p->in (fORla' viewOt pmpcaiwischotcn.
dcptadi"l'" wh.al infomu'ion <ho RrUClUn
""'-fbG "' i,h highly COIIIplialCll alCnW
.... ...,.,..J.IJ ruonkd ;n fronm ritwandanothn
-skW t s&ows rwosicics is '*"
_ iIlusmu dlt 1YS1ml by whidI m., building .eloped.
n.a. ..rjldi.. in putinllu (indllding. forQUl\pk.
I'fIltISiac .... idallylCp'.....,cd byopUngfor rietu
-11M: lJf ....
.......,..",..fxrory lul ls, wMChowcs,md mgine
...........,[ia """; 01, on fronu l shol: of ,he pbkside. Aside
'riewof rlItob;oa$ ......Jdproell> rdl>Clivcd........ion
dlt lTUlSp. lI01 inYOl Yl!d.nd Ihll. undiSloned pnlpMinl
_ lie only possible 10. limilCll ul('/lf.
The plIoiogr>phic , m",l of IIcwa "'00' ' 0 i nclude 1>0\
oCtile tM rUt, 0' thepbluidc of building,
r
I
_.. ..
_____",,::"'m
Bcd>ef'l ' otIlY,C, whcrus in, f>c, u rlyyearstheysrill used
mnbod <Ji compmli... juxtaposition. Thoundtrlying lope
01IIX' sm....u me buis forUWlpng lht pbocognphs for
uh.ibirions Of auIop.
comp.arioonsof objom Ih.l d.. llecht:n nude . b"
utended 10comparing buildings!h., differedin funclion
(fig. The i1I uslntion show. II jWlu position of . wind-
ingt<:rwtt .nd. of lhe hoodof . bLuI fur..-. BoIh
objm::s art pmm<td in dI.tt in pro/lk ($i<k ritw,
m.nul). in ofme forwud oick
Tho e linh-d by til( concspondrnca ill lhe
(INIYOYO' udInologyuK<!.
One rsion .hows . comp.arison of 1M . iew. of obje<:u
fromOMIUllClion.ll group t/I;lt fut\Ua diffenl Of ,imiLl.
!)'pes of comuuetion. To Ihi. md. ....,an . pindwon ...
eumplt from II.. winding IOWa" work VOUp(fig. Tk
j\l%upofition brinp cypes of wilId-
ing lOW... $trUClun, cxh shown in rwo
Englishtype mU I, (uIM ( Of Ilttl (Nw-lse.l ohn
mine. Werne, near Cerm:ul-'YI'C' str m-f,", ' OWl"
mine, . nd .I Iklgi.on-
.,,\U-(< ,'*'"(Fosse Chna"c.lMgc. Bdgi.. The
groupingsof lhreMiJDr:Hwo pIwxognphJ pRSftI< <lit:
objecu in Ii"" with t he JClllIa'Il%frum Idi 10 righl. in lTunw
,.j ew and
TI>c: lut juxupotition (fig. 94)con,i it$ of
objuwith diffe:n t furK1ioni, och lJIown frO<l u U,. The
upptf row of"'" cornp20tiVl: goupof pbc><o-
gnpbsp<amts. from 1m 10 right. a a..:J bunker,lht ..... ol
Iht g;lbk iK!( of a Iulf-PIQbu(Cj 1loIM.;mol a
TI>c: midd le row COft$i$", of a ,r:tfUformtt. a highooIugo
I')'lon. i ila. bottom rowJhDWS views of a
a cooling and a winding Unlikt the
typologies, these cornpml iVl: jux u positions rnc.aI a didanic:
principk hinging 001 suia fomWism in lheclloioeand sci-
rioft of Iht ob;=$ prc:wnr(Cj. This it: <DO nnplwi<
than lhe Jets, which m.obk,.... 10 folJo... in .isw.Itmns how
walked arou nd object. and IhuJ COn
on rh. depiction of ,ha,single
otJ;ca. 8y corll ruI. t"" cornp.llaciVl: juxta posilioNa...
intmckd 10 rtndtr US Iht fomu./ fC'pmoirt
of indw.ui.al archiunurc. _ hingwhichat Iht 0...., "'"
compuisonJ _ complt(d was IlOl al lhe ford"ronl of pa-
cqI,io n. In rhi< r'Prd, , his "",rhod i$ a na<V)' s..
. long ,h. way to n(ating glol iou$ly typologi<:ll with
the Imdiumof photography.