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Artist or Maker: Bernd & Hilla Becher (b. 1931 & b. 1934)

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Description: Pennsylvania, Fördertüme
twenty-two gelatin silver prints
each: 17 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. (45 x 55cm.)
Executed in 1997

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Provenance: Monika Sprüth Galerie, Cologne.
The Hans Grothe Collection, Duisburg.

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Exhibited: Duisburg, Museum Küpersmühle-Sammlung Grothe, Tomorrow For Ever, October 1999-January 2000.
Duisburg, Museum Küpersmühle-Sammlung Grothe, Photo und Papier, February-June 2000.

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Notes: Bernd and Hilla Becher explore industrial objects and how form and function can be manipulated when an object is placed in different contexts. The present work is a prime example of their rigorous approach to photography, where, by taking many photographs of the same building, the individuality of each one is gradually revealed and subtle aesthetic differences are brought to light.
The wooden mine heads of North America featured here appear as lonely monuments to public sculpture, by persons unknown. In their original likely quite dangerous. Through their thorough photographic examination of them, the Bechers have succeeded in altering our perception of these structures to one of silent contemplation and calm.

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