Water Cooling Tower, 1969

Bernd and Hilla Becher were a married artist duo known for their series of austere photographs of industrial buildings, from water towers to blast furnaces to gas tanks. In their first photobook they make the case for factory buildings like this cooling tower as “anonymous sculpture,” drawing attention to the formal qualities of the structures as if they were monumental artworks displayed throughout the landscape. Presciently recognizing that extractive industries in Europe were entering a period of decline, the Bechers’s archive of industrial photography highlights the aesthetic qualities of these structures and imbues them with a sense of nostalgia.