Mineheads

by Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher

Since 1959, Bernd and Hilla Becher have been obsessively photographing imperiled industrial structures such as pithead frames, water towers, blast furnaces, cooling towers, gas tanks, and silos. As documenters of the industrial era in Europe and the United States - an era now drawing to a close - they are not only photographers, but "industrial archaeologists, " salvaging testimonies of past developments in the form of "readable" documents for posterity. At the same time, the Bechers could also be called conceptual artists, as their photographs reveal the meaning and transformative character of structure. Regardless of their subject, the Bechers' photographic technique has remained constant for decades. Eschewing dramatic lighting effects, they shoot under overcast skies, framing their subject in the center of the picture and shooting from a slightly raised standpoint. The effect of their cool, rigorous approach is to reduce the individual structures they photograph within each typological category to morphological studies executed with artful neutrality. Their singleminded vision, signature style, and photographic identity have influenced an entire generation of younger photographers and have had a major impact on the worlds of conceptual art, architecture, sculpture, and criticism.

Genres: Photography, Art, Architecture

200 pages, Hardcover

First published August 8, 1997

Reviews

[Holly Lindquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a thing for derelict industrial architecture, and this book is a veritable feast of meticulously-cataloged mineheads. The photographers hail from Germany, so most of the photos are from Germany, France, Belgium, and Wales. The most elaborate gear is from France and Belgium, where the fanciful ironwork is reminiscent of the Eiffel tower. The scariest mineheads in this book are ricketty wooden conglomerations from the mountains of Pennsylvania and the oldest mineheads are from Wales. The Bechers prefer to photograph on overcast days when there is little to no human presence, so there is a pervading atmosphere of austere abandonment. Both Mineheads and its companion book, Blast Furnaces, seem to combine well with post-rock music.

[Kruip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I'll settle for the translation, but I really think Fördertürme sounds much better than mineheads.
The Becher's kind of photography is razorsharp in the mental way, considering the fact that most of the main characters in these pictures have long gone. The human urge to destruct, is too overwhelming to be able to see, what beauty their, or their grandparents, hands have made.
These photo's are a magnificent holiday through time. Between everyday anthems, that still bring their shade on human society, allthough they might not even exist to the fullest anymore.