Water Towers and 99 Cent
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At first glance, Water Towers and 99 Cent are different and unrelated photographs. Water Towers by Bernd and Hilla Becher is a series of nine black and white photographs taken in Europe and North America between 1972 and 2009. Currently held in the Tate collection, this work is part of a larger group of similar pieces covering winding towers, grain towers, and industrial facades. 1 Conversely, 99 Cent by Andreas Gursky, created in 1999, is a modern large-scale color photograph of the interior of a discount store in Los Angeles. The work is a chromogenic print on Plexiglas measuring almost 11 x 7 feet, 2 with copies owned by The Broad, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Musée National d’Art Moderne. 3 Despite their apparent differences, both works are part of the same movement, the Düsseldorf School of Photography, named for the school where Bernd and Hilla Becher taught and which Andreas Gursky attended as their student. Comparing and contrasting Water Towers and 99 Cent from the perspective of the Düsseldorf School of Photography provides a deeper understanding of the images than if each work were considered in isolation.
Bernd and Hilla Becher founded the photography department at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1976.4 Their teachings set the standards for the movement, including an emphasis on photographic technique and highly-quality, detailed prints. The Becher’s work focused on creating a photographic record of aging industrial structures. Water Towers typifies the Becher’s work, including the use of large format cameras to capture the towers in high detail, allowing the viewer to see all structural elements. They also used telephoto lenses to eliminate distortion and accurately render forms. Black and white photography and silver gelatin prints were standard in fine art photography when the Bechers began their work in 1958.5 Their decision to continue this tradition allowed consistency between the various structures they photographed while simplifying the images and emphasizing the forms.
Gursky remained faithful to the detail and quality associated with the Düsseldorf School. However, as a photographer who began working in the early 1980s, he also embraced a modern approach to color photography. To produce 99 Cent, Gursky took a series of photographs with large format cameras. He then scanned the negatives and digitally manipulated the photos to create a single image. This working process enabled Gursky to produce a print of considerable size while retaining the requisite detail expected in a fine art print.6
The artists’ emphasis on detail lent itself to the detached documentary style of the Düsseldorf School. In Water Towers, the Bechers adopted a straightforward compositional style frequently used in architectural photographs. They took great care to present the water towers uniformly using the same point of view and similar horizon lines. With the help of telephoto lenses, the Bechers isolated the towers from their environments and allowed them to occupy the entirety of the photograph. To emphasize form and maintain consistency between photographs, the Bechers photographed on overcast days to reduce shadows.7 Eliminating distractions also necessitated photographing without people present. The resulting photographs allowed the viewer to focus solely on the structures for the purpose of comparison.
In 99 Cent, Gursky suggested a documentary approach using methods similar to the Bechers, albeit with a twist. When we first look at 99 Cent, we see a straightforward photo of a discount store taken from a high angle, allowing an unfettered view of the interior. The horizontally parallel aisles emphasize the layout and perspective. Indeed, the composition is similar to three-dimensional images produced in computer-aided design software. While people are present, they are small and largely hidden. Their interactions are minimal and mundane, with none standing out. As with the Becher’s images, these devices allow the viewer to organize the image despite the profusion of merchandise. However, when we see the merchandise mirrored on the ceiling, we realize Gursky has manipulated the image. Upon further scrutiny, we also note the wideness of the image and a remarkable lack of distortion. While mathematically perfect, the perspective does not reflect reality.
Given the high level of detail, it is not surprising an equal degree of effort was put into organization. The Bechers organized the structures they photographed into what they called “typologies.” Structures were first classified according to their function, then according to their building materials, and lastly, according to their shared characteristics.8 All photographs within a typology corresponded to one another. Additionally, there were horizontal, vertical, and diagonal correspondences.9 As the title implies, only water towers are included in Water Towers. Winding and grain towers constitute separate typologies and are additional pieces in the Tate collection. All the water towers in Water Towers are made of reinforced concrete and have a conical shape. Horizontal rows 1 and 3 have larger tanks in relation to their bases. Horizontal row 2 has the smallest tanks in relation to their bases. The top and bottom images of vertical row 3 have the highest horizon lines. The water towers at the bottom of vertical row 1 and the top of vertical row 3 have the most substantial exterior supports. All towers in horizontal row 2 and vertical row 2 have visible doors. The center photograph has the basic form and features found in all the surrounding pictures.
There are no typologies in 99 Cent, nor is there an attempt at truthful representation for artistic and historical purposes. Instead, we are confronted with categorization in the service of consumerism. We see a staggering array of consumer goods immaculately organized aisle after aisle. Gursky achieved this effect by eliminating depth of field, thereby flattening the image and giving all areas equal focus. To add to the chaos, Gursky duplicated and reorganized products and aisles, in addition to mirroring the merchandise on the ceiling and intensifying the image's color. By combining multiple detailed photographs into a single large-scale image, the viewer has been given visual access to the entirety of the store in overwhelming detail. In this respect, 99 Cent is much like Becher's typologies since it can be viewed as a whole or at the level of the finest detail. However, Gursky designed his piece to induce overstimulation rather than thoughtful examination.
From this point of view, we can understand both pieces as social commentary. Bernd Becher’s family had worked in the mining sector for some generations. While mundane industrial structures were generally considered to be of little architectural value, he and Hilla recognized their significance and understood the need to create a historical record for their preservation. They chose structures most influenced by their function, selecting those that best represented the culture and economies of the area and period in which they were built. When selecting, photographing, and presenting a structure, the Bechers believed objectivity was paramount. In the documentary Contacts, Hilla Becher stated, “For me, the purpose of photography is to see in an objective way…And objectivity does not mean that the truth has been found. Far from it. It means the object represented is allowed to speak for itself.”10 Photography becomes a means for the artist to see the world with the clarity and detachment required to give agency to their subjects and allow them to find their own place in the historical record.
In 99 Cent, Gursky also chose a mundane subject, a discount store inherently considered to be of little worth. However, he did not elevate the store's status or seek to photograph it for posterity. Instead, he altered the scene to present a hyperrealistic image from an impossible vantage point. People are anonymous and secondary to the endless aisles of brightly packaged merchandise occupying the floor and ceiling. Access to goods is no longer productive or beneficial but rather an overpowering nightmare of choice, overabundance, and waste. Despite the alterations to the image, Gursky, like the Bechers, is very interested in recording history, as is evident in the quote, “I feel a bit like a recording device expressing the spirit of the time in my own particular way.”11 Gursky’s approach to setting down history is not one of strict documentation but rather a flexible process resulting in a symbolic record. 99 Cent is an image that could apply to any store and represents a commentary on consumerism that is increasingly true worldwide.
In isolation, 99 Cent might be challenging to accept as a depiction of a mundane shopping experience. Likewise, Water Towers might be viewed as little more than a conservative and perhaps dated record of a series of industrial structures. However, in examining both works simultaneously, we can access a broader context of artistic technique and social commentary made available by the Düsseldorf School of Photography. The work of Bernd and Hilla Becher and Andreas Gursky, in addition to other members of the school, including Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer, and Axel Hütte, illustrates how artists can use shared characteristics of a movement to create work with different aesthetics, processes, and messages offering us even greater insight into the age.
Bibliography
1 Emma Lewis, “Summary,” Tate, March 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bernd-becher-and-hilla-becher-water-towers-p81238.
2 “About this Artwork,” The Broad, https://www.thebroad.org/art/andreas-gursky/99-cent (accessed February 11, 2024).
3 Wikipedia contributors, "99 Cent (photograph)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=99_Cent_(photograph)&oldid=1193990897 (accessed February 11, 2024).
4 Stefan Gronert, The Düsseldorf School of Photography, (2017; repr., Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 2009), 20.
5 Contacts: Becher, directed by Sarah Moon and Roger Ikhlef (Arte France Dévelopment, 2004), https://archive.org/details/contactps/DVD-3/Becher.mp4.
6 Contacts: Gursky, directed by Sarah Moon and Roger Ikhlef (Arte France Dévelopment, 2004), https://archive.org/details/contactps/DVD-2/Gursky.mp4.
7 Contacts: Becher, Moon and Ikhlef.
8 Lewis, “Summary.”
9 Contacts: Becher, Moon and Ikhlef.
10 Contacts: Becher, Moon and Ikhlef.
11 Contacts: Gursky, Moon and Ikhlef.