Bowdoin College Museum of Art |

Preview image of work. gelatin silver print on paper, Framework House 38401

2019.56

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Framework House

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Artist

Bernd and Hilla Becher

Title

Framework House

Creation Date

1961

Century

mid-20th century

Dimensions

16 x 12 1/8 in. (40.64 x 30.8 cm)

Classification

Photographs

Creation Place

Europe, Germany

Medium and Support

gelatin silver print on paper

Credit Line

Gift of Roger L. Conover, Class of 1972

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2019.56

Bernd and Hilla Becher’s serial photographs document industrial infrastructure and vernacular architecture. They catalogue humble residences for workers and farmers, water and cooling towers, furnaces, gas tanks, and plants that were or still are essential to modern society but often remain overlooked and unheralded. Inviting comparison between multiple examples, the Bechers capture the complexities, idiosyncrasies, and austere beauty of functional buildings that they termed “anonymous sculptures.” Hilla and Bernd Becher often shoot on overcast days in the early morning, when the camera picks up myriad details in even, soft light. Examining the images, one could infer notions of class, history, and labor, but the photographers seem indifferent to any such interpretations. The purpose, they insist, is not to confront political issues or glorify the working class, but instead to connect with the internal memories of a region or community. As expressions of such memories, the anonymous monuments appear simple, unromantic, and unapologetic.