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Auto Psy, Renault 25 / 2
Jeanloup Sieff
Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
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Jeune Nuit
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
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No16 SPIRIT Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 50.8 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 inch
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No16 SPIRIT Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 50.8 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 10
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 7
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 5
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 4
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 3
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 2
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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Myriam pour New look - 1
Irina Ionesco
Photography - 26.2 x 17.7 cm Photography - 10.3 x 7 inch
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La Coquette
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
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Adventure
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
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No11 SPIRIT Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
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Nude Composition Photography
Frantisek Drtikol
Photography - 5.7 x 4.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 2.25 x 1.75 x 0.1 inch
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Aly, Claw Hand, from 'The Surreal Thing Series'
Matthew Rolston
Photography - 47 x 40.3 cm Photography - 18.5 x 15.87 inch
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Night No. 4
Elizabeth Becker
Fine Art Drawings - 22.9 x 30.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9 x 12 inch
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'Homenajes' Portfolio, 11 Silver Gelatin Prints
Javier Vallhonrat
Photography - 114.3 x 121.9 cm Photography - 45 x 48 inch
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La Republique
Yuri Romagnoli (Hopnn)
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
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Alienation - Mani_pØla_teD
Mik Mød
Photography - 24 x 24 x 4 cm Photography - 9.4 x 9.4 x 1.6 inch
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'O'
Jean-Paul Veison Marcelli
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
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'D'
Jean-Paul Veison Marcelli
Photography - 80 x 60 x 0.3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
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'Y'
Jean-Paul Veison Marcelli
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
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Interrogation
Charles Bayonne
Photography - 70 x 100 x 5 cm Photography - 27.6 x 39.4 x 2 inch
$1,641
Éclat de cosmos
Charles Bayonne
Photography - 50 x 50 x 5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 2 inch
$792
The Air We Breathe
Jordana Ozier Lafontaine
Photography - 10 x 15 cm Photography - 3.9 x 5.9 inch
$294
Sans titre (Un jour, une photo)
Aline Part
Photography - 67 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$566
Torre del hoyo oscuro (Identity Testimonies Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$538
Yves Saint Laurent, préparation de sa 1ère collection
Pierre Boulat
Photography - 24.5 x 30 x 0.2 cm Photography - 9.6 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$679
Shoot again (197)
Yves Cham
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.01 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$1,358
Shoot again (887)
Yves Cham
Photography - 45 x 60 x 0.01 cm Photography - 17.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,358
Shoot again (196)
Yves Cham
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.01 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$1,358
Supplique du séant n°3
Manon Deck-Sablon
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$509
Bruma Portfolio
Miguel Winograd
Photography - 35.6 x 27.9 x 5.1 cm Photography - 14 x 11 x 2 inch
$3,000
No92 Spirit Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 91 x 91 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.8 x 35.8 x 0 inch
$1,669
Dustin Hoffman 3
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
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Dustin Hoffman 2
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
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Dustin Hoffman 1
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
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Paul-Émile Victor
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$283
Marguerite Duras
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$283
Jean-Marc Barr
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$679
Last London Bus
Bert Hardy
Photography - 31 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 12.2 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$1,245
Village Adrianna
Sophie Bassouls
Photography - 33 x 48 x 0.5 cm Photography - 13 x 18.9 x 0.2 inch
$849
Les gens du lac. Pêcheurs relevant leurs filets.
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 22 x 22 x 0.1 cm Photography - 8.7 x 8.7 x 0 inch
$396
Les gens du lac. Mère et fille.
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 22 x 22 x 0.1 cm Photography - 8.7 x 8.7 x 0 inch
$396
Les gens du lac. Portrait de groupe.
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 22 x 22 x 0.1 cm Photography - 8.7 x 8.7 x 0 inch
$396
Pêcheurs aux narguilés
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$566
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!