Artist Research for Mon. Sept. 28

Jeff referred me to Bernd and Hilla Becher. When I first looked over their work I wasn't sure how it related to mine. All I saw was grids of industrial buildings, barns and water towers. Then I started to think about what they were doing and read more about them and I can see perfectly how they relate to what I'm doing. The reason they were doing grids was to show similarities in what they were photographing. They wanted to show the similarities of a large group of subjects which is what I'm trying to do also.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia on them: "They were fascinated by the similar shapes in which certain buildings were designed. In addition, they were intrigued by the fact that so many of these industrial buildings seemed to have been built with a great deal of attention toward design. Together, the Bechers went out with a large format camera and photographed these buildings from a number of different angles, but always with a straightforward "objective" point of view. The images of structures with similar functions were then displayed side by side to invite viewers to compare their forms and designs." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_and_Hilla_Becher).

I found I am actually following their lead in comparing similar forms. I am intrigued by the way faces that seem so different can fit so perfectly together, just as they were "fascinated by the similar shapes" of the buildings.