New York/Bernd Becher

Bernd Becher has died at the age of 75. Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed the vestiges of the industrial landscape. They worked systematically in a way that aligned them with conceptual art, but they did it with a relentless, if not passionate, attention to the structures that interested them, both humble and extraordinary. They were almost as well known for the students they taught as for their work: Andreas Gursky, Candida Hofer, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth, among others. But the Becher’s work influenced us all.