By photographing buildings and streets, Thomas Struth transcended the role of architectural photographer to become the creator of contemplative portraits of urbanism, globalization, and architectural spectacle. Over several decades, Struth was developed a method of making familiar sights fresh, causing viewers to look more closely at what they take for granted. While this retrospective explores Struth’s vast range of subjects, his recent images of urban architecture suggest he is returning to his original interest in photographing streets. A student of renowned Dusseldorf Academy teachers Bernd and Hilla Becher, Struth developed an analytical approach to photographing architecture with his early black-and-white images of New York city and European cities. His photographs chart the cities’ decay and renewal, conveying the mood and culture of the locals. Struth has since explored other subjects, such as people who flock to museums and monuments in his famous series Museum Photographs. Even though the images focus on the people at these cultural sites, Struth’s photographs study the act of observation with the same dispassionate eye that charts his inanimate subjects. Perhaps Struth’s greatest gift is his ability to analyze the way people observe their surroundings. The link between an image of a parking lot in Dallas and the pandemonium of New York’s Times Square is that Struth sees the importance of reflecting upon a banal environment as well as a spectacular one. Despite the obvious disparities among his subjects, Struth’s photographs all explore the underlying character of the cultures they represent. —Diana Lind