Hilla Becher

A portrait of the artist Andreas Gursky and his work „Hamm, Bergwerk Ost“. It follows the genesis of the image from conception to construction to contraction and reaction – until it finds its home in a worthy collection holding many of its „siblings“.

Working together as photographers since 1957, Bernd and Hilla Becher have become known for capturing endangered architecture quickly vanishing from the modern landscape. By the end of the 1960's they were part of the conceptual art movement in view of their minimalist approach. "Bernd and Hilla Becher: 4 Decades" follows the couple through their retrospective exhibition at Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof Museum while they discuss their beginnings as documentarians of 19th century industrial architecture.

Blast furnaces, winding towers, processing plants – now largely destroyed evidence of industrial development – live on in the photographs of Bernd and Hilla Becher. In the documentary film 'The Photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher', the now deceased artist couple talk about their life, work and influence, which was devoted to photographing industrial buildings for four decades. The portrait of the renowned photographers is complemented by contemporary witnesses such as their son Max Becher and former students of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, including Thomas Struth, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff and others.