from the kitchen sink series ~ (embiggenable)
from the kitchen sink series ~ (embiggenable)
“Bernd and Hilla Becher were sometimes more interested in aesthetic form than in what industry actually does…its goal was art, which means it was always bound to let function and meaning float free.”~ from the NY Times article
THERE IS AN ARTICLE IN TODAY’S NY TIMES, re: an exhibit, Bernd & Hilla Becher, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. The article is a good read, especially so as it does not jam the reader up with a load of art-speak.
That written, what really grabbed my attention was the manner in which the photographs were presented (in the article). That is, primarily grouped by subject matter-blast furnaces, water towers, and frame houses. This pricked my eye and sensibilities inasmuch as, up until this point, I have been rather lukewarm in my assessment of the Becher’s work. A situation which I now attribute to the fact that I have never viewed their work presented as coherent bodies of work. Seeing the Becher’s work presented as bodies of work has changed my assessment of their work. So much so that I will be, in the near future, boarding a train to NYC to see the exhibit.
The fact that seeing a coherent body of the Becher’s work so opened my eyes to their work comes as no surprise in that I have always understood that a good body of work can be a collective staggering visual force which illustrates and elucidates an artist’s vision. Such is the case with the Becher’s work. I can now attest that I have much greater understanding about what the Becher’s were up to with their picture making.
Re: the quote from the article - “Bernd and Hilla Becher were sometimes more interested in aesthetic form than in what industry actually does…” In regarding my kitchen sink pictures, I hope it is obvious that I am more interested in the aesthetic form to be found in the “life” that goes on in the sink than I am in the actual depicted referents to be seen in the photographs.