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Quote by Bernd Becher

“This is about objects, not motifs. The photo is only a substitute for an object; it is unsuitable as a picture in its customary sense.”

Quote by Bernd Becher

Author

German conceptual artist known for his photographic works, particularly his series of industrial architecture photographs, often created in collaboration with his wife, Hilla Becher. Bernd Becher's work is characterized by precise composition and an objective perspective, which has had a profound impact on photographic art. more

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“We don't agree with the depiction of buildings in the '20s and 1930s. Things were seen either from above or below which tended to monumentalize the object. This was exploited in terms of a socialistic view - a fresh view of the world, a new man, a new beginning.”

Men World Term Views Objects Building Agree New Beginnings 1930s Depiction

Author:Bernd Becher

“Our camera does not produce pretty pictures, but exact duplications that, through our renunciation of photographic effects, turn out to be relatively objective. The photo can optically replace its object to a certain degree. This takes on special meaning if the object cannot be preserved.”

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“There is no photograph more inherently photographic than another.”

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“[X-ray's] accidental discovery in the late 1800s fits seamlessly into modernity's fascination with, and belief in, the power of technological transparency: the desire to domesticate time (cinema), to preserve and capture the surface of the fleeting (photography), to see inside (x-ray).”

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“I'm not particularly invested in, nor do I really care about, photography in a general sense. It's a medium that's relatively ubiquitous, readily accessible, and that I have some facility with, so it makes sense for me to use it.”

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“People say don't stare. Through the photos, not only do I stare, but I allow viewers to stare at the subject, to see things that they cannot see with a casual glance.”

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“Black people have been killed for directing their gaze at the wrong person. I want my subjects to reclaim their right to look, to see, to be seen.”

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Book:Dawoud Bey: portraits 1975-1995

Source: Dawoud Bey: portraits 1975-1995

“I always wanted my photographs to challenge the status quo, to contest the kinds of images that existed in popular culture.”

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“Improvisational things about picture-making... learned from working with the small camera early on have served me well in being able to think quickly when making [portraits].”

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“While I have devised various formal strategies for articulating [my] concerns, I think fundamentally the work is driven by a basic curiosity. I seek to find out things about people by making photographs of them.”

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