What are new topographics?
The term “new topographics” is used to describe a select group of American photographers whose pictures had a similar aesthetic. Their pictures were black and white with some colour and they were all landscape. The term was first used by William Jenkins in 1975. These photographers included:
- Robert Adams
- Lewis Baltz
- Nicholas Nixon
- Bernd and Hiller Becher
The subjects in these photos were car parks, houses, trailers and ware houses. These kinds of places were picked to display America as matter-of-fact and disillusion people to the American dream. By shooting everyday homes and revealing the truth about how Americas landscapes actually look these photographers dismantled the idealised landscapes that are normally seen in photography.
