Cooling Tower, Zeche Waltrop, Ruhr, West Germany
Photograph
1974 (photographed), 20th century (made), 1975 (published)
1974 (photographed), 20th century (made), 1975 (published)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Bernhard and Hilla Becher's photographs appear as factual, precise and apparently passive representations of utilitarian structures. The neutral, even bland, quality of their images - always taken on grey days to avoid harsh shadows - suits the industrial subject matter. They have maintained a consistency of style allowing the systematic comparison of building types in photographs often displayed together in grids. When compared with each another, the outlines of the buildings begin to take on a sculptural quality. Despite being treated equally, each structure has strong individual characteristics, revealed by the Becher's approach.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Cooling Tower, Zeche Waltrop, Ruhr, West Germany (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Gelatin-silver print |
| Brief description | 'Cooling Tower, Zeche Waltrop, Ruhr, West Germany'; photograph (gelatin-silver print) by Bernd and Hilda Becher, 1975, West Germany |
| Physical description | Black and white photograph of a cooling tower. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| 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. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Places depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Summary | Bernhard and Hilla Becher's photographs appear as factual, precise and apparently passive representations of utilitarian structures. The neutral, even bland, quality of their images - always taken on grey days to avoid harsh shadows - suits the industrial subject matter. They have maintained a consistency of style allowing the systematic comparison of building types in photographs often displayed together in grids. When compared with each another, the outlines of the buildings begin to take on a sculptural quality. Despite being treated equally, each structure has strong individual characteristics, revealed by the Becher's approach. |
| Bibliographic reference | Taken from Departmental Circulation Register 1975 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.650-1975 |
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| Record created | June 6, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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