It doesn't need many words to "review" an exhibition by the Bechers. It's always a treat, and this latest show at the MoMA is no different. And of course, with the recent and unfortunate death of Bernd Becher, one could probably expect a number of retrospective shows. The MoMA shows many work groups that most of us are already familiar with. But it is always a pleasure to look at these prints up-close and in context. I also enjoy how the Bechers draw wider (art-)historical connection, like their take on Walker Evans' photograph of Bethlehem, PA. The Bechers certainly owe a lot of their success to photographers like August Sander as well as to the emergence of conceptual art in the early 1970s, but I find it amazing how much they have -- in return -- influenced photographers ever since, whether they were their students, like the Struffkys, or all the stripes and shapes of contemporary typologists. I just find it sad, though, how typologies have become such an uncritical, widespread and easily marketable trend in photography. Is it just a too-easy formula for today's art students, from Leipzig to New York, often neglecting the passion and dedication the Bechers had for their subject matter and project? Or is it rather the art market that too-easily "recognizes" typologies as (salable/desirable) "Art"? Probably both.
Well, in any case, if you are in New York, please plan a trip to MoMA's photography gallery and indulge in truly fine works of Bernd and Hilla Becher.
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