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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Categories

Subcategories

Black and white

The Nature Lover

Laura

Leaf Veins V

Leaf Veins iV

Leaf Veins I

Leaf Veins Vi

Alps X, Slovakia

L'Arbre

Mist Wave

Alps XLI., Switzerland

Alps XXXIII., Germany

Alps XXXII., Germany

Alps XXXI., Germany

Alps XXVIII., Germany

Alps XXI., Switzerland

Alps II., France

Reflection Around

Without title

Untitled

Rome : Dark Corner

Architecture in Kyiv

Camel Hill

Relativity

The Old Man And The Cow, India

Holi Day, Mathura India-II

L'ombre d'un Pêcheur

Fog tide

Contre courant

Pont suspendu

Les Hauteurs de Tana

Comme des grandes

Ayez P.D.N.

Classic Girl, Rome

EUR, Rome

Filled with Light

Midtown Still-life

The end, Estonia

Match, Estonia

The show, Italy

Agnès Varda au Bob

Optique

The face #2

Earth and Water series

Earth and Water series

xx series

xx series

BAnana superstar

Fusion 1

Puit de lumière sur l'océan

Sleeping Beauties

Lofoten Mysteries

Fruit

Way

Treasure

Electricity

Dream Sanctuary 2

Inspired by Opera

Inspired by Opera

Self Portrait… aka Yella v2.6 Dream Within A Dream

Série "Devils" Burn devil burn

A son doigt, l'éclat d'une pierre... 4

La croupe de Léda

Revue noire

Dripping

Frondes de fougère

Courbes et craquelures