Bernd and Hilla Becher

Bernd and Hilla Becher were two German conceptual photographers who together produced typographical documentation of industrial structures. Their black-and-white images served as visual case studies of what they called Anonymous Sculpture, referring to disappearing architectural relics such as coal mines, steel mills, water towers, grain silos, and gas tanks. “I became aware that these buildings [blast furnaces] were a kind of nomadic architecture which had a comparatively short life—maybe 100 years, often less, then they disappear,” the artists said of their work. “It seemed important to keep them in some way and photography seemed the most appropriate way to do that.” Bernd Becher was born on August 20, 1931 in Siegen, Germany, and Hilla Wobeser was born on September 2, 1934 in Potsdam, Germany. They met one another while studying painting at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, their romance prompting a collaborative career. Their working methods and techniques influenced a generation of photographers now known as the Düsseldorf School, which includes Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, and Candida Höfer. Bernd died on June 22, 2007 in Rostock, Germany, while Hilla died on October 15, 2015 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Today, their works are included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Tate Gallery in London.