The Becher School

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About The Becher School

This group aims to collect photographs that participate in various projects similar to those of the many famous students of Bernd and Hilla Becher, including Adreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, and Candida Hofer. While there are already a few groups devoted to these artists independently, the idea here is to loosen the constraints and showcase photographs that share the wider aesthetic of the school in general.

There are, however, no steadfast definitions of this aesthetic, and contributors are left to make their own decisions regarding their posting under this heading. In all likelihood, those of you familiar with the work of these wonderful artists will know immediately if your photos "fit" here.

The original communal aesthetic of the Becher school was related to the Becher's own creation of a series of "typologies" of industrial architecture. Photographed from a frontal perspective and from a slight level of height, the Bechers captured various industrial forms -- including water towers, blast furnaces, storage silos, warehouses and more -- in remarkably crisp black and white photographs, which they subsequently collected as a representative "typology" of the given form.

Each of the students mentioned above were required to adopt a similar project -- i.e. some typology of their own -- for evaluation by the Bechers. Out of this common origin, each has long since developed an independent aesthetic. And yet, there seem to remain features of their work that retain some connection. It is this "connection" that informs the foundation of this group.

For more information on these artists, please see the following link: www.goethe.de/kue/bku/dos/fbs/enindex.htm

And, above all, this is supposed to be fun, so contribute whatever you think works!