Bernd Becher was a German photographer born in Siegen, Germany, on the 20 of August 1931. He married Hilla Wobeser in 2003, who was born on the 2 September 1934, tobecome the Becher duo we know today
The pair started their joint work in 1960 and worked until Bernd’s death in 2007. Their first major exhibition was in 1967 in Munich, where their work was more so used to display the buildings themselves, rather than themselves as photographers. This was one of the first examples of their artistic style of emphasising documentation over their photographic content. After their successes they were offered a solo exhibition at the Städtische Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf, where there was also an american exhibition in the same area on Minimalist art. However, they decided to place themselves in the style of Conceptual art, where they confirmed their reputation with a place in the Documenta 5, 1972, called the Befragung der Realität – Bildwelten heute or Questioning reality – Pictorial words today. Although, both Bernd and Hilla remained sure that their work was aimed to only be in a documentation style.
Their first photobook Anonymous Sculptures was published in 1970 and is their most well-known body of work. The title indicates that the Becher’s referred to industrial buildings as found objects.
The book consisted of an inventory of industrial structures including kilns, and gas-holders categorised into sections, such as the pot, the oven, the chimney etc.
The Becher’s skill was clear, but they refused to discuss any technical aspects of their work. Both of them were trained at the Düsseldorf Art Academy under advertisement until 1962. They were set in their ideas that a photograph can’t be fully objective as the photographer has to go through many processes to form an image. The Becher’s continued to stand away from people over interpreting their work, as they only wanted to display their work for records, with no real meaning or feeling.
The pair won a Golden lion in Venice Biennale, in 1991, They later retired in 1996, but continued to work throughout Europe and North America until Bernd’s death in 2007.