Fabrikhallen (Giebel)

Fabrikhallen (Giebel) is an exceptional example of the pioneering work by Bernd & Hilla Becher which redefined the function of photography in postwar Europe. In 1959, the collaborative duo began photographing nineteenth century buildings from the industrial revolution that were in danger of disappearing because of pace of modernization, as well as changes in patterns of global manufacturing. Instead of photographing picturesque monuments, palaces, or churches of architectural, historic or religious significance, they focused on the ubiquitous, everyday edifices, like factories, furnaces, water towers, gas tanks, silos and coal bunkers so often taken from granted in the landscape. Photographed from the outside, the exteriors of these buildings do not speak to the types of activities that happen within. Rather, grouped together based on formal qualities, the Becher’s allow for comparative analysis of different “typologies,” such as similarities and differences between buildings with gables, as seen in the present example. The Bechers would influence generations of photographers and filmmakers in what would become known as The Dusseldorf School, including luminaries as Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth and Andreas Gursky.