Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MB2A, Shelf DR110

Water Tower, Kirkham Gate, near Leeds

Photograph
20th century (made), 1975 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Bechers investigate the relationship between form and function, especially in regard to vernacular and industrial architecture. In many of their images they display a particular type of building in a grid, using repetition to facilitate comparison. This image of four cooling towers allows the same typological comparison in one image. The precise aesthetic that permeates the Bechers' work has had a great impact on the many photographers who have studied under them at the Düsseldorf Academy.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleWater Tower, Kirkham Gate, near Leeds (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print
Brief description
'Water Tower, Kirkham Gate, near Leeds'; photograph (gelatin-silver print) by Bernd and Hilda Becher, 1975, England.
Dimensions
  • Height: 403mm
  • Width: 497mm
Gallery label
Bernd and Hilla Becher collaborated for over 40 years, first working together in 1959. Their systematic photography of industrial architecture brought them recognition as conceptual artists as well as photographers. With a deliberately impersonal style, they catalogued and compared the functional yet sculptural forms of steel mills and mines. The Bechers devised a system of ‘typologies’, arranging particular types of buildings in grids. They used a 10 x 8 inch large format camera to obtain detail and worked on overcast days to avoid shadows. The technical precision and serial approach of the Bechers has influenced some of the most well known fine art photographers today, including Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff and Andreas Gursky, who were taught by them at the Düsseldorf Academy.(21/11/2012)
Credit line
Acquired from Nigel Greenwood Inc. in 1975
Object history
This is the first of a portfolio of 14 prints: “Industrial Buildings” published by Schirmer/Mosel, Munich, 1975, in association with Ilea Sonnabend. Edition of 50, the photographs were printed by the artists and mounted on white card.
Production
From a portfolio of 14 prints "Industrial Buildings" 1975.
Places depicted
Summary
The Bechers investigate the relationship between form and function, especially in regard to vernacular and industrial architecture. In many of their images they display a particular type of building in a grid, using repetition to facilitate comparison. This image of four cooling towers allows the same typological comparison in one image. The precise aesthetic that permeates the Bechers' work has had a great impact on the many photographers who have studied under them at the Düsseldorf Academy.
Bibliographic reference
Taken from Departmental Circulation Register 1975
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.643-1975

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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