“Text in German, French, and English. After meeting as students in Düsseldorf, Bernd and Hilla Becher began systematically photographing the buildings of the waning mining industry in Hilla’s native Ruhr Valley. Captured in a neutral and ‘objective’ light at carefully chosen times of day, the industrial structures that are the Bechers’ subjects — many of them slated for demolition — reveal a stark grandeur that transcends their utilitarian origins. The cumulative effect of the images, often displayed in grids to emphasize repeated formal gestures, won the Bechers acclaim as both photographers and conceptual artists, and their visual aesthetic has proved lastingly influential.” — Warwick Books, on Abe Books

With an attentiveness to monumentality, neutrality, and typology, the high-resolution photographs in this perfect-bound, hardback publication project an authority and majesty that is further amplified by their grayscale subtlety. Subjects include: lime-kilns, cooling-towers, blast-furnaces, winding-towers, water-towers, gas-holders, and silos.