Bern and Hilla Becher Water Towers

1. Bern and Hilla Becher Water Towers

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of conceptual artistic discourse, topological
The combination
documentation and typological research define the innovative
practice of Bernd and Hilla Becher. Having met in 1957, the couple
began a lifetime of exploring the post-war industrial landscape of
Europe and North America, resulting in a very fruitful and famous
work that has both functional and aesthetic value. The coolness of
fifteen black-and-white photographs in the "Water Towers", 19651997, is a wonderful example of the practice of artists throughout
their lives.

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This work, completed over three decades, is a true representation of
the painstaking and very careful practice of artists. A carefully
composed ensemble of fifteen photographs of the towers creates a
beautiful rhythm of wavy and intersecting shapes. In an effort to
emphasize the monumentality of these industrial structures, a fullbodied frontal angle is used, emphasizing the objectivity of the
camera lens. Thus, works from this life project, such as Water Towers,
1965-1997, equally shed light on the aesthetic assessment that has not
traditionally been attributed to large industrial structures.

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Bernd and Hilla Becher have gained international
fame for their unprecedented visual documentation of
industrial architecture, executed in a consistent and
highly aesthetic manner. The artistic collaboration
between these two artists left an indelible legacy in
the younger generation, securing for them the
position of leaders of post-war photography.

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10. Thank you for your attention