Framework Houses, Germany

Bernd Becher|Bernd and Hilla Becher|Hilla Becher

1960–1972 · Gelatin silver prints · Photographs

This unique diptych represents an important step in the Bechers' development of the gridded typology form. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the artists experimented with a number of formats exemplifying the comparative technique that their rigorous archival method (standardizing their work formally and compositionally) made possible. Only two or three other diptychs of this "one-and-nine" format (such as gas tanks) have been seen in records of auction results but never available for acquisition. The Bechers' entire project rests on the differential nature of their system, i.e. only in multiple variants presented side by side can an "ideal" form or archetype be created in the mind of the viewer. Although coincidental, the German sociological pairing of gemeineschaft (social relations via personal ties) and gesellschaft (social relations via impersonal ties) seems especially appropriate to the conceptual organization presented here by the artists.

Artist

Bernd Becher|Bernd and Hilla Becher|Hilla Becher

Date

1960–1972

Medium

Gelatin silver prints

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2020