Bernd & Hilla Becher, Robert Smithson

This volume was published by the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves in 2002 to accompany an exhibition exploring the intersecting legacies of the husband-and-wife photography team, Bernd and Hilla Becher, and the influential land artist Robert Smithson. The work highlights the shared conceptual landscape of these artists, who each engaged with the aesthetics of industrial obsolescence and the architectural structures of the 20th century. By juxtaposing the Bechers' rigorous typological documentation of cooling towers and water tanks with Smithson’s critical interest in entropy and site-specific reclamation, the publication serves as a scholarly bridge between European conceptual photography and American post-minimalism.

The design of the book reflects the austerity and systematic precision characteristic of the Bechers' own archival practice. Its layout emphasizes the serial nature of the featured photographs and diagrams, prioritizing clarity and a neutral, documentary tone. Upon its release, the publication was well-received within academic and art-historical circles as an essential resource for understanding the dialogue between photographic formalism and earthworks, effectively framing the transition from industrial modernity to contemporary environmental reflection.