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Lot Essay
Les châteaux d’eau, les tours de refroidissement, les usines, ou encore les constructions à colombages sont les sujets de prédilection du duo de photographes Bernd et Hilla Becher qui, depuis 1959, s’entendent à dépeindre l’architecture des quartiers de travailleurs à l’ère industrielle. Organisées en séries et réalisées selon un protocole strict, ces photographies font également l’objet de considérations esthétiques marquées et participent à la définition d’une école de photographie allemande du vingtième siècle désignée sous le nom d’École de Düsseldorf. Rigoureuse, frontale et sobre, leur conception de la photographie sera par la suite suivie par des artistes tels qu’Andreas Gürsky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff et Thomas Struth.
Untitled 1960-72 appartient à la typologie des habitats vernaculaires recensés par les Becher. La singularité des maisons, ainsi présentées les unes à côté des autres, s’illustre grâce aux motifs géométriques dessinés par les charpentes apparentes en bois, dans un style minimaliste. « You can only see the differences between the objects when they are close together, because they are something very subtle » explique Hilla Becher. C’est précisément cette subtilité qui créé un impact visuel fort et se dégage de cette série de photographies de maisons emblématiques du travail du duo, à laquelle ces deux tirages argentiques appartiennent.
Water towers, cooling towers, factories and structures with exposed wood beams were among the favoured subjects of the photographer duo Bernd and Hilla Becher who worked together from 1959 to depict the architecture of working-class districts in the industrial era. Organised into a series and created according to a strict protocol, these photographs are the object of extensive aesthetic consideration and they help to define the school of 20th-century German photography referred to as The Düsseldorf School. Their vision of photography was rigorous, fully frontal and austere and would later be espoused by artists such as Andreas Gürsky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth.
Untitled 1960-72 is part of the Bechers' inventory of vernacular architecture. The singularity of the houses, presented here alongside one another, is illustrated through the geometric motifs formed by the visible beams and framing in a minimalist style. 'You can only see the differences between the objects when they are close together, because they are something very subtle,' Hilla Becher explained. It is precisely that subtlety that creates the strong visual impact projected by the repetitive series of photographs that are so typical of the couple's work and to which these two gelatin silver prints belong.
Untitled 1960-72 appartient à la typologie des habitats vernaculaires recensés par les Becher. La singularité des maisons, ainsi présentées les unes à côté des autres, s’illustre grâce aux motifs géométriques dessinés par les charpentes apparentes en bois, dans un style minimaliste. « You can only see the differences between the objects when they are close together, because they are something very subtle » explique Hilla Becher. C’est précisément cette subtilité qui créé un impact visuel fort et se dégage de cette série de photographies de maisons emblématiques du travail du duo, à laquelle ces deux tirages argentiques appartiennent.
Water towers, cooling towers, factories and structures with exposed wood beams were among the favoured subjects of the photographer duo Bernd and Hilla Becher who worked together from 1959 to depict the architecture of working-class districts in the industrial era. Organised into a series and created according to a strict protocol, these photographs are the object of extensive aesthetic consideration and they help to define the school of 20th-century German photography referred to as The Düsseldorf School. Their vision of photography was rigorous, fully frontal and austere and would later be espoused by artists such as Andreas Gürsky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth.
Untitled 1960-72 is part of the Bechers' inventory of vernacular architecture. The singularity of the houses, presented here alongside one another, is illustrated through the geometric motifs formed by the visible beams and framing in a minimalist style. 'You can only see the differences between the objects when they are close together, because they are something very subtle,' Hilla Becher explained. It is precisely that subtlety that creates the strong visual impact projected by the repetitive series of photographs that are so typical of the couple's work and to which these two gelatin silver prints belong.