I wanted to produce an image with a clearer relationship to the style of Bernd & Hilla Becher. While I believe this is not a workable way of completing the project as a whole, either logistically or on the basis of content, it felt like a avenue worth exploring for its own sake.
I decided to produce a one-off example of my chair, using an extrapolation of their technique. Shooting the chair against a white studio background seemed fair, given the lack of drama in the Becher’s skies and I tried to get as close to perfect with regard the chair’s placement. I photographed the chair using a roughly equivalent focal length to theirs and positioned it very carefully.
I lit the subject evening from either side, in an attempt to mirror their use of diffuse outdoor light, and to give the subject some dimension.
I’m happy with the resultant work in terms of its technicality, even going so far as to mimic Idris Khans’s works based on the Becher Typologies. (Khan layered multiple Becher photographs, in a way that underlines the Becher’s exact and precise way of working).
See Homage to Bernd Becher – Idris Khan – https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/21637
The takeaway from this diversion though, is not the images I meant to make, but an image I made while making these images. Once I had the shots in the bag, I took a quick photo with my phone to document my set-up, and saw a different and more intriguing photograph.
Switching to a super-wide I photographed the space, breaking the borders of the studio backdrop to include the hardware and the paraphernalia that make the space.
While still not a viable way of completing the project, it does show what a more curated version of the workplace landscape I’ve been exploring, and is a more compelling photograph than my original attempt a few weeks ago.
Contact Sheet (Including pre-edit originals)
