Week 8 Speaking Photographically
This week I chose to focus on photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, as I find their practice interesting and informs my own practice in the context of topographic and landscape photography.
During the interview Bernd and Hilla reflect on their intent and visual choices throughout their practice. Bernd explains that their intent was established with the realisation that industrial buildings “bore witness to their time, architecturally and architecture was holy related to an economy or rather the thinking behind an industrial economy”. For me they realised that the need to record and document different industrial buildings was important to history and at any point these buildings could disappear. As Bernd and Hilla capture the industrial areas they describe how they classify these in certain groups and placing them side by side they were able to notice individual differences between buildings that otherwise look very similar. I agree with the decision to arrange the buildings as so, as their subject is so similar it gives an opportunity to appreciate the relationship between shapes and lines within each shot. They seem to be very systematic in the construction, eliminating landscapes in the background as to be sure to focus on the buildings and not be distracted by unnecessary landscape. Therefore that’s why their installation works so well because in my opinion their strategic approach was the right way to catalogue such a large amount of industrial buildings.
I think my practice has similarities with Bernd and Hilla in the context that I’m documenting a certain type of architecture that represents a time in which they were used, and their importance to society. Although my practice tends to be with buildings that have since been decommissioned rather than still in use, it still bears similarities. For my practice I focus on documenting lots of buildings (like Bernd & Hilla) but I’m still unclear on my visual choices as I’m still researching the best way to present my work. I really like the way Bernd and Hilla have achieved their installation but they were able to classify their practice into similar groups. With every site I capture it presents its self with different buildings/architectural some intact and some not so. I have been to about 5 sites and I believe so far there are 28, until I decide how many I am going to capture and physically get to the site to see what I’m working with, it would be difficult at this stage to commit to certain visual choices. I have taken a lot from Bernd and Hilla and their perspective on topographic photography, I like the way their work puts all the emphasis on the buildings almost, like Hilla says “letting the building talk for itself” by drawing attention to the buildings similarities and differences between shapes and lines, I hope to inform my own practice with these points where I can.
Critical Research Journal 