New Topographics was a term coined by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers (such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz) whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape…

Many of the photographers associated with The New Topographics including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon and Bernd and Hiller Becher, were inspired by the man-made…selecting subject matter that was matter-of-fact. Parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses were all depicted with a beautiful stark austerity, almost in the way early photographers documented the natural landscape. An exhibition at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York featuring these photographers also revealed the growing unease about how the natural landscape was being eroded by industrial development.

The new topographics were to have a decisive influence on later photographers including those artists who became known as the Düsseldorf School of Photography.

WATCH THIS …New Topographics

Photographing Urban Landscapes

Research and explore The New Topographics and how photographers have responded to man’s impact on the land, and how they found a sense of beauty in the banal ugliness of functional land use…
Create a blog post that defines and explains The New Topographics and the key features and artists of the movement.
ANSWER : what was the new topographics a reaction to?
Choose from…ROBERT ADAMS, STEPHEN SHORE, JOE DEAL, FRANK GOLKHE, NICHOLAS NIXON, LEWIS BALTZ, THE BECHERS, HENRY WESSEL JR, JOHN SCHOTT ETC to write up a case study that will inspire your own photography.
Analyse some key imagery carefully and show your understanding of the TECHNICAL / VISUAL / CONCEPTUAL AND CONTEXTUAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE IMAGES YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO DISCUSS
Here are some other suggestions that may stimulate your imagination / Starting points for YOUR OWN photo-assignments THIS WEEK…

• Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins
• Stadiums, floodlight arenas, staircases
• Motorways, railways, runways, dockyards
• Circuit boards, pipework, telephone poles, towers, pylons, skyscrapers
• Shop displays, escalators, bars, libraries, theatres and cinemas
• Gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, man-made beaches

Possible titles to inspire you and choose from…

Dereliction / Isolation / Lonely Places / Open Spaces / Close ups / Freedom / Juxtaposition / Old and new / Erosion / Altered Landscapes / Utopia / Dystopia / Wastelands / Barren / Skyscapes / Urban Decay / Former Glories / Habitats / Social Hierarchies / Entrances and Exits / Storage / Car Parks / Looking out and Looking in / Territory / Domain / The Realm / Concealed and Revealed

EXTENSION TASK

Look at how the New Topographics approach has inspired landscape photography and we document our surroundings / the way we are using and transforming the land.

You should look at photographers such as…