rhetoric of the static image and the Bechers’ interest
in typology proved compatible with the existing
currents in art, something Carl Andre confirmed
in ‘‘A Note on Bernd and Hilla Becher’’ published
in the December 1972 issue ofArtforum, in which
he situates the Bechers’ grids of anonymous indus-
trial structures within the context of the serial pro-
duction found in contemporary art of that era. The
Bechers’ work was also associated with what was
calledSpurensicherung(securing traces), a move-
ment that deals with fragments and traces of his-
tory in which artists attend to their private histories
and the ever-quickening changes of life. This ten-
dency was explored at the 1972Documenta 5, orga-
nized by leading Swiss curator Harald Szeemann,
which included works by the Bechers. Under the
slogan ‘‘individual mythologies,’’ their works were
shown together with pictures depicting both private
and collective histories. In 1975 they were the only
European photographers to participate in the
ground-breaking exhibition New Topographics:
Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape, at the
George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.
In the beginning the Bechers framed individual
typologies together, but later changed to framing
each individual picture. This allowed the construc-
tion of images on the wall that is not only larger
than a typical painting but has a sculptural pre-
sence; in fact their workTypologien(Typologies)
was awarded the prize for sculpture at the 1990
Venice Biennial.
In 1976 Bernd Becher secured a post as professor
of photography at his alma mater, the Kunstakade-
mie Du ̈sseldorf. It was the first official photography
professorship anywhere in Germany. Because it was
legally impossible to grant a couple one position, the
professorshipwenttoBernd,withHillaalsoworking
with students. Among the first were Candida Ho ̈fer,
Axel Hu ̈tte, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, and
Thomas Struth, who have gone on to be highly influ-
ential contemporary photographers. The Bechers’
teaching methods included familiarizing students
with the entirety of art, while expecting them to
work systematically and rigorously on a theme of
their choice. The Bechers’ influence is obvious on
the early works of their students, which show a
clear, unmanipulated view of nearby surroundings,
yet strict typological serialization is found in only a
few of the students’ works (for example, Thomas
Ruff’s large-format frontal portraits). Students
werealsoschooledinthemeaningofthepresentation
of their works.
After the first and thoroughly successful genera-
tion of Becher students, the success of Jo ̈rg Sasse,
Boris Becker, Claus Goedicke, Elger Esser, among
others, testifies to the Bechers’ vision in tap-
ping into the social desire for a language of ima-
ges that is peaceful, clear, and seemingly objective,
and unmanipulated.
In 1996 the Bechers entered into a cooperative
relationship with the photography collection of the
SK-Stiftung Kultur, Cologne, which focuses on
objective documentary photography, to archive
and publish their documentation industrial plants
and structures.MARENPolte
Seealso:Architectural Photography; Atget, Euge`ne;
Documentary Photography; Gursky, Andreas; Hu ̈tte,
Axel; Photography in Europe: Germany and Austria;
Renger-Patzsch, Albert; Ruff, Thomas; Schools of
Photography: Europe; Struth, Thomas; TypologyBiography
Hilla Becher born Hilla Wobeser in 1934 in Potsdam, Ger-
many. Schooling as photographer, 1953–1957; employed
as commercial and aerial photographer, 1958–1961.
Meets Bernd Becher 1959; employed in the photography
department and studied photography at Staatliche Kun-
stakademie Du ̈sseldorf; marriage to and collaboration
with Bernd Becher; 1961.
Bernd Becher born in 1931 in Siegen, Germany; 1947–1950
apprenticeship as decorative painter in Siegen; 1953–
1956 studied painting at the Staatliche Kunstakademie
Stuttgart; 1957–1961 studied typography at the Staa-
tliche Kunstakademie Du ̈sseldorf; and marriage to
Hilla Wobeser; 1961; 1959–1965 photography primarily
of Siegen, the Ruhr area, The Netherlands; 1963 begin-
ning of photography of the mining industry in The Ruhr
area, cement industry in southern Germany, lime-mining
industry in The Netherlands; 1964 beginning photogra-
phy of the industrial areas of Belgium, France, and
Luxembourg; 1965 beginning photography of the mi-
ning industry of England, Wales, and Scotland; 1966
stipend in England; 1966–1967 photography in France
and Luxembourg; 1968, 1974 photography in the United
States; 1970 photography in Belgium; 1990 together they
received the Golden Lion, the prize for sculpture at the
Forty-fourth Venice Biennial; 1994 awarded the Kaiser-
rings in Goslar, Germany. Erasmus Prize for European
Culture, 2002. Retires as Professor at the Du ̈sseldorf
Academy of Art; 1999. They live and work in the town
Kaiserswerth near Du ̈sseldorf.Individual Exhibitions
1963 Galerie Ruth Nohl, Siegen, Germany
1966 Staatliche Kunstakademie, Du ̈sseldorf, Germany
1967 Industriebauten, 1830–1930, Die neue Sammlung—
Staatliches Museum fu ̈r angewandte Kunst, Munich,
Germany
1968 Sta ̈dtisches Museum, Abteiberg, Mo ̈nchengladbach,
Germany
1969 Anonyme Skulpturen, Sta ̈dtische Kunsthalle, Du ̈ssel-
dorf, GermanyBECHER, BERND AND HILLA