Examples of Typologies

What Are They?

The term ‘Typology’ was first used to describe a certain style of photography when Bernd and Hilla Becher began documenting damaged and ruined German industrial architecture in 1959. The couple described their subjects as ‘buildings where anonymity is accepted to be the style’.

Removed and detached, each photograph was taken from the same angle, mostly at the same distance from the buildings. Their aim was to take and record the landscape they saw changing and disappearing before their eyes so once again, Typologies not only recorded a moment in time, they prompted the viewer to consider the subject’s place in the world.

Hilla Becher

Hilla Becher was a German conceptual photographer. Becher was known for her industrial photographs, or typologies, with long-time collaborator and husband, Bernd Becher.  She was born: September 2, 1934, In Potsdam, Germany. She died October 10, 2015 (age 81 years), Dusseldorf, Germany.

Bernd Becher

Becher was a painter and decorator in Siegen, Germany from 1947 to 1950. From 1953 to 1956, Becher studied painting and lithography at the Staatliche Kunstakademie, Stuttgart, Germany. Becher studied typography at the Staatlichen Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, from 1957 to 1961. He was Born: August 20, 1931,  Siegen ,Germany and he died: June 22, 2007 (age 75 years), Rostock, Germany.  

Examples of their work

Image Analysis

Technical

 Every image that is part of the typology was taken outside meaning the lighting is likely 100% natural, with lots of detail that is easily seen throughout the image meaning aperture was likely high in order to have a very deep depth of field. Little to none visual noise is present in any of the images, so ISO was kept to a minimum with a value likely between 100-200.

Visual

 Every image is gaining some type of machinery, most likely an oil well. Each image has been taken from the same perspective and angle which will create an obvious similarity between them all, whilst it still maintains contrast since the background and environment around the oil wells are distinct in each photo.

Some images in the typology feature there isn’t a lot of natural elements (e.g. grass), even though the frame is still largely dominated by the oil well so there is very little centre of attention which is paid to natural landscapes in these images.

Conceptual/Contextual

 Bernhard Becher gave up making paintings, drawings and etchings of old industrial buildings because he had decided that photography met his needs better.

Painting needed  composition which included changing the object and was too subjective; photography was more precise and objective, which is able to clearly capture and present exactly what is happening in a scene at that moment in time. The pictures in the typology leave little to nothing up to the imagination of the viewer, simply being 9 different oil wells occupying spaces, almost as if they are taking up all the space of the natural landscapes. 

What is it?

A typology can be defined as a study of “types”. That is a photographic series that prioritizes collecting and showcasing images in groups or sets rather than stand-alone images.

Case Study – Bernd and Hilla Becher

Bernhard “Bernd” Becher and Hilla Becher were German conceptual artists and photographers working as a collaborative duo. They are best known for their extensive series of photographic images, or typologies, of industrial buildings and structures, often organised in grids. As the founders of what has come to be known as the ‘Becher school’ or the Düsseldorf School of Photography, they influenced generations of documentary photographers and artists in Germany and abroad.^[2] They were awarded the Erasmus Prize in 2002 and the Hasselblad Award in 2004.

Image Analysis

Technical – All pictures in the typology were taken outside meaning the lighting is likely 100% natural, with detail visible throughout the image meaning aperture was likely high in order to have a deep depth of field. Little to none visual noise is present in any of the images, so ISO was kept to a minimum with a value likely between 100-200.

Visual – Each image is capturing some sort of machinery, presumably an oil well. Each picture has been taken from the same perspective creating an obvious similarity between them all, whilst still maintaining contrast since the background and environment around the oil wells are different in each photo. Some photos in the typology feature minimal natural elements (e.g. grass), although the frame is still largely dominated by the oil well so there is very little focus paid to natural landscapes in these images.

Conceptual/Contextual – Bernhard Becher gave up making paintings, drawings and etchings of old industrial buildings because he had decided that photography met his needs better. Painting necessitated composition which involved changing the object and was too subjective; photography was more precise and objective, being able to clearly capture and present exactly what is happening in a scene. The pictures in the typology leave little to nothing up to the imagination of the viewer, simply being 9 different oil wells occupying spaces, almost as if they are invading the natural landscapes.

What are they?

A photographic typology involves examining different “types” through a series of images. Instead of focusing on individual photos, it emphasizes the idea of “collecting” images together. This approach to photography is impactful and can change how we view the world around us.

Examples

Artist analysis

Bernd and Hilla Becher

Who are they ?

Bernhard “Bernd” Becher (August 20, 1931 – June 22, 2007) and Hilla Becher, born Wobeser (September 2, 1934 – October 10, 2015), were a pair of German conceptual artists and photographers who collaborated closely. They gained recognition for their vast collection of photographs, known as typologies, which depict industrial buildings and structures, typically arranged in grid patterns. As the pioneers of what is referred to as the ‘Becher school’ or the Düsseldorf School of Photography, they left a lasting impact on many documentary photographers and artists both in Germany and internationally. Their work earned them prestigious honours, including the Erasmus Prize and the Hasselblad Award.

Examples of their work

Photo analysis

Technical – The lighting in these photos was most likely natural, this is due to all the buildings being outside, moreover the lighting is relatively soft because of the cloudy sky in the background. The aperture for this photo was most likely a high number, something like f/32, this is because everything is in focus, the ISO was probably 100 or maybe 200 because of the lack of sun and the shutter speed was probably something lower like 1/125 as to not bleach out the sky.

Visual – This is a really well thought out photo, this is because each building is different however they are all within the same kind of design style, furthermore they are all taken from a deadpan, straight on view which keeps it repetitive but still interesting. Each building is composed in the middle of the frame. The background of each photo is the same in each photo which places an emphasis on the uniformity of the images but also the simplicity due to the lack of background noise.

Contextual/Conceptual – Bernd and Hilla Becher (German, active 1959-2007)
Bernd Becher (German, 1931-2007)
Hilla Becher (German, 1934-2015)
Comparative Juxtaposition, Nine Objects, Each with a Different Function
1961-1972
Gelatin silver prints
Estate Bernd & Hilla Becher, represented by Max Becher

The term New Topographics was coined by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape.

This Technique in which a scene—usually a landscape—is photographed as if it were being surveyed from afar, practiced most famously by the 1970s ‘New Topographics’ photographers, including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon, and Bernd and Hilla Becher.

Robert Adams

Robert Adams was born on May 8, 1937 (age 87 years), City of Orange, New Jersey.

Robert Adams is an American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West. His work first came to prominence in the mid-1970s through his book The New West and his participation in the exhibition New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape in 1975.

For 50 years, Robert Adams (b. 1937) has made compelling, provocative, and highly influential photographs that show us the wonder and fragility of the American landscape, its inherent beauty, and the inadequacy of our response to it. This exhibition explores the reverential way he looks at the world around him and the almost palpable silence of his work.

Many of these photographs of the American West capture the sense of peace and harmony that the beauty of nature can instill in us—“the silence of light,” as he calls it, that he sees on the prairie, in the woods, and by the ocean. Other pictures question our silent complicity in the desecration of that beauty by consumerism, industrialization, and lack of environmental stewardship. Divided into three sections—The Gift, Our Response, and Tenancy—the exhibition features some 175 works from the artist’s most important projects and includes pictures of suburban sprawl, strip malls, highways, homes, and stores, as well as rivers, skies, the prairie, and the ocean.

While these photographs lament the ravages that have been inflicted on the land, they also pay homage to what remains.

Lewis Baltz

Lewis Baltz was born on September 12, 1945, Newport Beach, California, United States. He died on November 22, 2014 (age 69 years), Paris, France

Lewis “Duke” Baltz was an American visual artist, photographer, and educator. He was an important figure in the New Topographics movement of the late 1970s. His best known work was monochrome photography of suburban landscapes and industrial parks which highlighted his commentary of void within the “American Dream”.

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.

Stephen Shore

• Foreground vs background | Dominant features
• Composition | low horizon line | Square format
• Perspective and detail / cluttering
• Wide depth of field | Large Format Camera
• Colour | impact and relevance
• Nationalism vs mobility vs isolation
• Social commentary | The American Dream ?
• An appreciation of the formal elements : line, shape, form, texture, pattern, tone etc

Technical

• Slow Shutter Speed, car on the left is slightly Blurry
• Natural light is being used, Cold Clinical feel, distinct Hard-Edged shadows

Visual

• Hard Distinct Edges within the environment, Text, Shapes, Horizon
• Some alignment to the Rule of Thirds
• Horizon is quite low, Composition feels cluttered or closed

Contextual

• 2 Sides of Life, Urbanization and Industrialization
• Cars connected all places together
• No one cared about the Impact that the Petrol stations and Cars would have on the environment
• Celebration of Transport/freedom but Damaging
• Red, White, Blue colours being used connected to the American Flag in California – Nationalism
• Logical image but Cold and stericle, makes sense in the Head but truthfully hurts to look at in the Heart

Conceptual

• Car creates a sense of Freedom from escaping the Cluttered space and sent off into the Horizon

Panoramic Landscapes

A panoramic photo captures a wide, sweeping view that extends far beyond the typical aspect ratio or field of view in a standard photograph.

To achieve a Panoramic Photograph you need to overlap your photos by about half, so each photo has about half of the scene the last photo had in it. As long as there is a decent overlap, the computer will stitch them together successfully. Shoot a bit wider than you think you will need. It is better to crop in afterward on your panorama, than to not have enough.

Joiner Photos

Joiner photography is a photographic technique wherein multiple pictures are assembled into one. There are two types of joiner photography, photographic collages and Polaroid collages.

Photographic Collages

A photographic collage is an artwork made by assembling different photographs together.

Polaroid Collages

A Polaroid collage is a photographic collage made using Polaroid photographs.

Experimentation

• Panoramic Landscape Response

• Joiner Landscape Response

Wednesday 2nd April:
Well done to CARA and FIN, the only 2 students who worked on their blog on Wednesday.

Thursday 3rd April:
Well done to CARA, FIN, ELIYAH and JOSH who worked on the blog on Thursday.

We can see!
We can see when you are working on your blog and we can also see how much time has been spent on it in total – so we know if you aren’t putting in much effort. No one else in this class has worked on the blog since Tuesday 1st April. Guys – time to step it up! Unfortunately this means you’ve shot yourselves in the foot and will have more to get finished over your Easter Holidays!

Over Easter Holidays:

1. Over Easter you have 2-3 photoshoots to complete as Homework (see below blog post here and ShowMyHomework).
   
2. All below blog posts should have been completed before Easter. And….

1. The New Topographics Overview
2. The New Topographics Artist Reference and Image Analysis
3. The New Topographics Photoshoot and Outcome (Havre Des Pas Photo Walk)
4. Typologies overview (more information if you scroll down the blog:
5. Typologies Artist Reference: Complete a case study for Bernd and Hilla Becher (Research who they are and analyse their typology photos).
6. After Easter: Upload your Typologies Photoshoot – edits and final images
7. After Easter: Upload your second New Topographics Photoshoot – edits and final photos
8. After Easter (optional): Upload any other photoshoots you completed as part of your Easter Homework