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!
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Vin - Famille Adam's - Série : Carnotzet
Moz - David Vuillermoz
Photography - 80 x 100 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0 inch
$2,890
Rentré au stand pour Ayrton Senna. F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$925
Ayrton Senna. Brésil 1994. F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$925
Ayrton Senna Podium Brésil. F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$925
Le petit marseillais
Rodrigo
Photography - 23.8 x 14.7 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 5.8 x 0 inch
$867
Paris confinement 4
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,098
Nailed it Series No.83
Sumit Mehndiratta
Sculpture - 64 x 64 x 4 cm Sculpture - 25.2 x 25.2 x 1.6 inch
$982
Karl Largerfield soirée Kenzo
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$1,098
Reflecting landscape 11
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 80 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,618
La furia del manton
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$817
Riding the Wind
Anthony Horth
Photography - 50.8 x 71.1 x 1 cm Photography - 20 x 28 x 0.4 inch
$750
Black Iris - Size M
Clara Diebler
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$578
La Délicate - Size M
Clara Diebler
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$867
Laura And Naomi Mulholland Drive
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 66 x 61 cm Photography - 26 x 24 inch
$2,601
Flow Of Water
Angela Cameron
Photography - 101.6 x 139.7 x 0.5 cm Photography - 40 x 55 x 0.2 inch
$1,800
Vin - Cuvée de lumiére - Série : Carnotzet
Moz - David Vuillermoz
Photography - 80 x 100 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0 inch
$2,890
Ocean Nightscape No.5
Angela Cameron
Photography - 71.1 x 71.1 x 0.5 cm Photography - 28 x 28 x 0.2 inch
$1,200 $1,080
Ocean Nightscape No.4
Angela Cameron
Photography - 71.1 x 71.1 x 0.5 cm Photography - 28 x 28 x 0.2 inch
$1,200
Silent Dreams
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$817
La Gitanilla. Revelación Emporium 1947
Martí Sala
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$925
N°50-22 11 (NG63)
Nicolas Galtier
Painting - 50 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,040
European Snow II
Viet Ha Tran
Photography - 89.9 x 58.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$900
Rue Mouffetard
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.62 x 15.74 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Rue Mouffetard - Triptych
Uwe Ommer
Photography - 45 x 100 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17.71 x 39.37 x 0.1 inch
$1,650
Steve McQueen. La grande évasion. L'attente
George Barris
Photography - 28 x 36 x 1 cm Photography - 11 x 14.2 x 0.4 inch
$798
Spiritualized (1994)
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 101 x 76 cm Photography - 39.8 x 29.9 inch
$4,600
Mezzogiorno al Pantheon, 1 & 2, Rome
Fabrizio La Torre
Photography - 57 x 67 x 2 cm Photography - 22.4 x 26.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,682
La Rolls del Re
Fabrizio La Torre
Photography - 42 x 60 x 0.5 cm Photography - 16.5 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
$1,907
Manhattan et le Brooklyn Bridge, Novembre 1955 - New York
Fabrizio La Torre
Photography - 60 x 42 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,907
Chris Martin Coldplay
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 51 x 41 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 inch
$2,046
Amongst the camels
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,677
100th Anniversary Celebration Coffret # 5 - Charms
Fabrizio La Torre
Print - 29.7 x 21 x 0.3 cm Print - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
$751
100th Anniversary Celebration Coffret # 4 - Travel
Fabrizio La Torre
Print - 80 x 60 x 0.3 cm Print - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$751
100th Anniversary Celebration Coffret # 3 - Roma
Fabrizio La Torre
Print - 80 x 60 x 0.3 cm Print - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$751
Rufus Wainwright (2010)
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 60 x 51 cm Photography - 23.6 x 20.1 inch
$2,427
Mémoire de JingDeZhen
Feng Hatat
Photography - 32 x 48 x 1 cm Photography - 12.6 x 18.9 x 0.4 inch
$578
Restaurateur de porcelaine
Feng Hatat
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$694
Atelier de porcelaine II
Feng Hatat
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$694
Atelier de porcelaine I
Feng Hatat
Photography - 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$694
Fours traditionnel à bois pour le porcelaine
Feng Hatat
Photography - 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$578
