50 Artists: Linde B. Lehtinen on Hilla and Bernd Becher

The thousands of artworks at SFMOMA offer countless opportunities to look closely and think deeply about some of the most amazing artists of our time. To celebrate both the artists on view in the newly expanded museum and the creative communities of the Bay Area, 50 Artists invites local artists and creative professionals to share how icons of modern and contemporary art matter to them. This week, SFMOMA’s own Linde B. Lehtinen investigates Hilla and Bernd Becher’s photographs of industrial landscapes.

Lehtinen is assistant curator of photography at SFMOMA. She received her BA in art history from the University of Chicago and MA and PhD in art history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she wrote her dissertation on the work of American modernist photographer Paul Outerbridge. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Lehtinen worked for several museums in both education and curatorial departments, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, J. Paul Getty Museum, and Skirball Cultural Center. Her research and curatorial work has ranged from interwar mass advertising culture to conceptual photography. She has also published several articles and presented lectures on the history of photography in America.