Stefan Gronert's Book on Düsseldorf Photography School Reviewed

In a review published in art press n°364 (February 2010), Christophe Kihm examines Stefan Gronert's book "L'école photographique de Düsseldorf." Gronert argues that the Düsseldorf School of Photography is not a trend but a workplace where a "new artistic emancipation of photography" occurred. He identifies Bernd and Hilla Becher as the masters, following Joseph Beuys at the same Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, who taught a generation including Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, and Petra Wunderlich. The reviewer regrets that Gronert does not detail the Bechers' pedagogy or exercises, instead providing a general context and short monographic studies. However, the book notes that the photography class founded in 1976 benefited from a favorable technical context, notably the proximity of Grieger labs, and that aesthetic emancipation accompanied technical changes like larger formats and new printing processes. Kihm also laments the lack of analysis of the Bechers' relationship to pedagogy, evident in their archival practice.