Hilla Becher
[Photographer, b. 1934, Potsdam, d. 2015, Düsseldorf.]
Technology is above requiring an interpretation; it interprets itself. You merely need to select the right objects and place them precisely in the picture; then they tell the story of their own accord.
Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher
[Photographer, b. 1931, Siegen, Germany, d. 2007, Rostock, Germany.]
[Photographer, b. 1934, Potsdam, d. 2015, Düsseldorf.]
We don’t agree with the depiction of buildings in the ‘20s and 1930s. Things were seen either from above or below which tended to monumentalize the object. This was exploited in terms of a socialistic view—a fresh view of the world, a new man, a new beginning.
Hilla Becher
[Photographer, b. 1934, Potsdam, d. 2015, Düsseldorf.]
For us it plays no role who pushes the shutter for a particular picture… outsiders cannot tell who has taken a particular photo and we often forget ourselves. It simply is not important.
Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher
[Photographer, b. 1931, Siegen, Germany, d. 2007, Rostock, Germany.]
[Photographer, b. 1934, Potsdam, d. 2015, Düsseldorf.]
The question if this is a work of art or not is not very interesting for us. Probably it is situated in between the established categories. Anyway the audience which is interested in art would be the most open-minded and willing to think about it.
Hilla Becher
[Photographer, b. 1934, Potsdam, d. 2015, Düsseldorf.]
You have to be honest with your object and to make sure you do not destroy it with your subjectivity, and yet remain involved at the same time.
Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher
[Photographer, b. 1931, Siegen, Germany, d. 2007, Rostock, Germany.]
[Photographer, b. 1934, Potsdam, d. 2015, Düsseldorf.]
Our camera does not produce pretty pictures, but exact duplications that, through our renunciation of photographic effects, turn out to be relatively objective. The photo can optically replace its object to a certain degree. This takes on special meaning if the object cannot be preserved.
We want to offer the audience a point of view, or rather a grammar, to understand and compare the different structures. Through photography, we try to arrange these shapes and render them comparable. To do so, the objects must be isolated from their context and freed from all association.
This is about objects, not motifs. The photo is only a substitute for an object; it is unsuitable as a picture in its customary sense.
