Black and white
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Higher Ground
Drew Doggett
Photography - 50.8 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Mother's Grace
Drew Doggett
Photography - 61 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Creature Comfort
Drew Doggett
Photography - 43.8 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17.25 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
From the Earth
Drew Doggett
Photography - 66 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 26 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,350
Rome : Faith
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$546
Rome : Life
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$546
Rome : Statue
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$546
Rome : On The Road
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$546
Rome : Old Abandonned Building
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$546
Chain Link Fence II
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 42 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$364
Street Art IV
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 30 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$364
Street Art - Hand
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 42 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$364
Chain Link Fence
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 30 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$364
Urban Graffiti Wall II
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 30 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$364
Lazy man with dog
Sven Svensøn
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$443
Premières neige à Zinal
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 80 x 240 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 94.5 x 0.4 inch
$6,403
Panorama Mont-Blanc
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 100 x 200 x 1 cm Photography - 39.4 x 78.7 x 0.4 inch
$7,218
Monte Rosa Hutte Panorama
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 120 x 240 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 94.5 x 0.4 inch
$9,313
Cervin – Obergagelhorn
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 150 x 150 x 1 cm Photography - 59.1 x 59.1 x 0.4 inch
$10,477
Panorama couronne impériale
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 90 x 270 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 106.3 x 0.4 inch
$9,313
Au-delà du Blanc de Moming se dressent l’Obergabelhorn et le Cervin
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 120 x 120 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0.4 inch
$6,053
Zinalrothorn
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 120 x 180 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 70.9 x 0.4 inch
$7,567
Combins panoramique
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 120 x 240 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 94.5 x 0.4 inch
$9,313
The giant of Chamonix – Mont-Blanc
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 120 x 180 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 70.9 x 0.4 inch
$7,567
Mont Blanc – Versant Italien
Thomas Crauwels
Photography - 100 x 200 x 1 cm Photography - 39.4 x 78.7 x 0.4 inch
$7,218
On the surface
Clotilde.MJ
Photography - 36.56 x 65 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14.4 x 25.6 x 0.1 inch
$279
Master of game
Clotilde.MJ
Photography - 15.77 x 24 x 0.3 cm Photography - 6.2 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$136
Purity - Composition 27-1
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 180 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 70.9 x 0.4 inch
$5,286
Sensation n°2, 2016
Mathieu Trautmann
Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
$1,478
No10 Spirit Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 100 x 80 x 3.5 cm Photography - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.4 inch
$4,138
Approach
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 90 x 72 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 28.3 x 0 inch
$1,677
A Frog Atop Water (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
A Frog Atop Water (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 121.9 x 182.9 cm Photography - 48 x 72 inch
$25,000
A Frog Atop Water (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 cm Photography - 40 x 60 inch
$15,000
In the shade
Mourad Cherifi
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.02 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$1,364
Diverse
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 150 x 117 x 0.1 cm Photography - 59.1 x 46.1 x 0 inch
$4,661
No40 Spirit Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 152 x 152 x 0.1 cm Photography - 59.8 x 59.8 x 0 inch
$4,661
Hat and Gloves Silhouette (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
Black and white
Before the arrival of photography – with the exception of some etchings and lithographs – all the images we consumed were in colour. Quite simply, because no one would ever have thought to do anything else – why paint in black and white when colour was so readily available?
Yet despite this, today many photographers still choose to work in black and white – such as Pauline Théon, Kadir Von Lohuizen or Joh Lowenstein – even though their photos are taken in colour by the camera itself. Is the black and white trend a fleeting effect of fashion, or a symbolic return to the roots of the photography movement? Black and white photography has something that colour photos, despite recent innovations and the extraordinary quality of images today, cannot quite access. The use of black and white lends significant force to the composition: the contrasts, the shadows and the figures all stand out more strongly. People simply feel differently when faced with a colour photo versus a black and white image.
Colour is a distraction of sorts, a disturbance: colour is a nuisance.
And yet, some photographers still prefer colour to black and white, whilst others merge touches of colour with otherwise monochrome compositions. But in the end, all agree that both styles impose a totally different way of looking at a photo: from researching the shot to post production work, when artists develop or retouch the image. The use of colour is therefore something of a process in its own right, relating to two different ways of viewing the world and showing it others. The question, then, is what is being told, and why is it being in the way that it is?
The symbolic value of putting black and white together is a good starting point for reflecting on the fascination that they generate even today. There could not be a more fascinating, more striking ambivalence than when black, the 'colour' of darkness and burnt coal, considered a non-colour, is placed alongside white – representing light, and the result of all the colours merged together.
The problem faced by photographers today is that black and white still carry strong connotations of the past, of an era before the popularisation of colour and its massive cultural recovery amongst the press and photo journalists. In fact, it is rare now that contemporary subjects are photographed in colour, but we still associate black and white images with a retro feel.
So what does contemporary art have to say about it all? Discover Artsper's selection of black and white works: on the border of past and present, of the real and the imaginary… let us guide you!