Bernd and Hilla Becher Industrial Landscapes
ISBN 0-262-02507-8
$85.00 180 Pages 140 Duotone plates
Reviewed by Chris Cobb
ldr@leonardo.org
What one sees in a photograph largely depends on one's education. The
sophisticated imagery in Bernd and Hilla Becher's newest book titled
'Bernd and Hilla Becher: Industrial Landscapes,' oozes with art history.
From the landscape paintings of Albert Bierstadt (who graduated from
the Kunstakademie, Dusseldorf in 1857 where the Bechers have taught
for decades) to the stoic and poignant images of Walker Evans, the Bechers
capture a world that is both good and bad at the same time.
MIT Press's gorgeous new monograph is illustrated with 180 large images
in which a studious eye can see all of 20th century photography's various
movements. 'Industrial Landscapes' also refers to the 19th century landscape
photographs of Carleton Watkins, J.P. Sebah, and Francis Frith. The
hand of August Sander, the great German documentary photographer, can
also be felt.
Shot in both Europe and America over four decades, the Bechers reveal
the haunting beauty and the environmental destruction that industry
creates. In this book we are confronted with the architecture of power
plants, grain silos, steel mills and many hard to fathom structures.
This strong selection of complex and enigmatic images tell the story
of civilization's rough underbelly. The scarred land, blackened chimneys
and solemn nuclear power plants are turned into song-like pictures that
are densely packed with meaning. Beautiful houses are often shown with
huge funnels and spouts looming over them. Cars and trains are just
little specks alongside the structures. Some of the photographs are
long exposures. This can be seen in the blurred reflections of buildings
that shimmer on the surface of nearby rivers and lakes. 'Prince Albert
Dock, Liverpool, GB 1966' is a good example. This picture shows two
nearly identical buildings side by side. In the middle ground is their
blurry reflection and then in the extreme foreground is a single chain
that runs across the page from left to right.
This collection is especially dramatic when one considers that each
image required traveling to the location, waiting for perfect lighting,
getting a perfect exposure AND THEN going back home. The resulting prints
appear like stories of magical places that are both familiar and yet
so remote. If one pauses to consider that their whole lives have been
spent doing this documentation of places, it only adds to the fascination
one feels when seeing the Becher's work.
It is no accident that the Bechers are among the most influential artists
of the late 20th century. Their students have included Andreas Gursky,
Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth who in turn have led the way for the current
generation of image-makers.
This is not just a book for the coffee table, it is required viewing
for students and teachers of photography at all levels. The work presented
here is so complex something new will be discovered every time it gets
opened.