The New German Objectivity

Description

In 1968, Bernd and Hilla Becher set out to photograph industrial buildings such as water towers, silos, and blast furnaces. Their goal was to return photography to the documentary nature of its origins and free it of "Expressionist meanderings," as German artists of the New Objectivity movement had done with other visual arts. The Dusseldorf school - the Bechers and their students - was to radically impact photography with its strict, dispassionate portrayals and predilection for straight lines. This program tells the story of the Dusseldorf school of photography, a legacy of Germany's New Objectivity, and its evolution since 1968. Covers Candida Höfer, Petra Wünderlich, Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, and Andréas Gursky, focusing on the Bechers' industrial typologies, "Collegium Helveticum," Wünderlich's religious buildings, "Art Institute of Chicago II," Ruff's "Portraits," and "jpegs.

Runtime

26 min

Series

Subjects

Genre

Date of Publication

[2013], c2011

Database

Films on Demand

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