WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Bernd and Hilla Becher

Bernd and Hilla Becher

Artist

PhotographyConceptual ArtPhotography

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Movements

• Conceptual Art
• Photography

Related Artists

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Influence Graph

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About

Why this artist matters now

Bernd (1931-2007) and Hilla (1934-2015) Becher were a visionary German artist couple, known for their distinctive collaboration that reshaped contemporary photography. They systematically captured images of the changing industrial landscape across Europe and America, focusing on structures being phased out of use, from water towers to coal bunkers. Their objective and conceptual approach highlighted the functional beauty and architectural nuances of these edifices, classifying them by type and location. This 'typological' method and presentation is signature to the Bechers, merging art, architecture, and cultural archaeology. They continued their rigorous, analytical work at the Düsseldorf School of Photography, where they influenced a generation of artists such as Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer, and Thomas Struth.

Source: Paula Cooper · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Conceptual Art

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (10)

WattsOS

Chemical Factory, Wesseling / Cologne, Germany

1997 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 23 3/4 × 18 1/4 in. (60.3 × 46.4 cm) Sheet: 24 1/4 × 19 3/4 in. (61.6 × 50.2 cm) Frame: 35 1/2 × 28 3/8 in. (90.2 × 72.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Blast Furnaces, Heads, Frontal Views

1985 · Gelatin silver prints (12)

Each image: 40.2 × 31 cm (15 7/8 × 12 1/4 in.); Each frame: 51.6 × 41.3 × 3.2 cm (20 5/16 × 16 1/4 × 1 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Pitheads–Perspective Views

1981 · Fifteen silver gelatin prints

50.8 × 40.6 cm (20 × 16 in.); Installed: 152.4 × 203.2 cm (60 × 80 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Mayen, Eifel, Deutschland

1979 · Gelatin silver print

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Coal Tipple, Goodspring, Pa. Four Views

1975 · Gelatin silver print, from the portfolio "Artists & Photographs" (1975)

Upper left image/paper: 11.4 × 16.4 cm (4 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.); Upper right image/paper: 11.5 × 16.4 cm (4 9/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Lower left image/paper: 11.2 × 16.5 cm (4 7/16 × 6 1/2 in.); Lower right image/paper: 11.4 × 16.4 cm (4 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.); 40.8 × 49.7 cm (16 1/8 × 19 5/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

WattsOS

Zeche Hannover, Bochum-Hordel, Ruhr Region, Germany

1973 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 18 × 23 in. (45.7 × 58.4 cm) Sheet: 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm) Frame: 29 1/2 × 36 5/8 in. (74.9 × 93 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Framework House, Wickersbacher Weg 7, Trupbach, Siegen, Germany

1960 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 15 7/8 × 11 11/16 in. (40.3 × 29.7 cm) Frame: 19 1/2 × 15 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (49.5 × 38.7 × 3.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

[Maquette for Watertowers as reproduced in "Counterparts"]

1960 · Gelatin silver print

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 10 artworks →

Record