This is about objects, not motifs. The photo is only a substitute for an object; it is unsuitable as a picture in its customary sense.
Bernd BecherAll we did was to turn back the time to a photography of precision which is superior to the human eye.
Bernd BecherOur camera does not produce pretty pictures, but exact duplications that, through our renunciation of photographic effects, turn out to be relatively objective. The photo can optically replace its object to a certain degree. This takes on special meaning if the object cannot be preserved.
Bernd BecherWhen someone discovers something in their lives that really interests them, then they should be content with doing that - without having to go and lie on a beach once a year.
Bernd BecherWe simply thought that we would be considerably poorer in Europe if we didn't have the sacred buildings of earlier epochs. It's still possible to experience the Gothic period, not to mention the Romantic. Only nothing remains of the industrial age. So we thought that our photos would give the viewer the chance to go back to a time that is gone forever.
Bernd Becher