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H0427 – The crusher
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$558
F0488 – The surprising
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$837
F0564 – The dauntless
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,009
F0500 – The dancer
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,009
H0430 – The last one
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,009
F0479 - The fantasized
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,009
H0384 - The secretive
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$1,340 $1,206
F0547 - The scared
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,340
F0555 - The duchess
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$1,340
Libido and Mortido, Portrait #37
George Mayer
Photography - 100 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39.37 x 27.55 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Libido and Mortido, Portrait #26
George Mayer
Photography - 100 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39.37 x 27.55 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Libido and Mortido, Portrait #65
George Mayer
Photography - 100 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39.37 x 27.55 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Libido and Mortido, Portrait #4
George Mayer
Photography - 90 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography - 35.43 x 27.55 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Libido and Mortido, Portrait #38
George Mayer
Photography - 100 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39.37 x 27.55 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Série Adam et Eve - 2/1
Line Taarnberg
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$447
Strippers in a Club, Atlanta, Georgia
Leonard Freed
Photography - 27.9 x 35.6 cm Photography - 11 x 14 inch
$5,000
Divadlo na Prádle
Lukas Dvorak
Photography - 61 x 81.3 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 32 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
Ombre
Gabriel Quirant - Pidet
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$558
Bettie Page ‘Two- Peace Leopard Print Suit', Key Biscayne, FL
Bunny Yeager
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Untitled- One of a kind pencil and gold paint figure drawing on paper
Juan C. Estrada
Fine Art Drawings - 99.1 x 67.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 39 x 26.5 inch
$1,200
Nus rouges - Picasso Grand Palais
Pierre Collin
Print - 90 x 63 x 1 cm Print - 35.4 x 24.8 x 0.4 inch
$781
De l'ombre à la lumière II
Cédric Brion Studio Clavicule Pics
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$837
CH.Vision 1619
Yves Bordes Lapeyre
Photography - 60 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$603
Perfect Body
Klaus Roethlisberger
Photography - 60 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$603
Aperture Rapture
Hollie Miller
Photography - 27.2 x 47.5 x 0.2 cm Photography - 10.7 x 18.7 x 0.1 inch
$949
Will we find a way?
Cheraine Collette
Photography - 80 x 100 cm Photography - 31.5 x 39.4 inch
$6,698
Fusione
Riccardo Buonafede
Fine Art Drawings - 20.4 x 28.9 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8 x 11.4 inch
$279
It's in your own mind
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 17 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 6.7 x 0 inch
$88
Elevation
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 19.2 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 7.6 x 0 inch
$100
Sisyphe II
Patrick Strajnic
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,440
Série Adam et Eve 1 - 1/3
Line Taarnberg
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$447
Série Adam et Eve - 2/3
Line Taarnberg
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$447
Untitled
Mauricio Velez
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$3,500
Don't Tell Mamma #5
Koray Erkaya
Photography - 81.3 x 119.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 47 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Thierry - Je me souviens de mon corps d'enfant inquiet
Jean-Pierre Le Boul'ch
Painting - 117 x 89 x 4 cm Painting - 46.1 x 35 x 1.6 inch
$8,037
Human Being 1564 - Purity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon
Idan Wizen
Photography - 80 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,791
There are no coincidences II
Mary Rozzi
Photography - 50 x 40 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 inch
$1,340
There are no coincidences I
Mary Rozzi
Photography - 50 x 40 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 inch
$1,340
Résille II
Marie de Duve
Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$614 $553
L'autre rive
Maryse-Anne Couteau
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 20 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$2,679
Garden of ethernity 3
Lukas Dvorak
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$1,950
Quelle étoile est la mienne ?
Jan Saudek
Photography - 38 x 30 cm Photography - 15 x 11.8 inch
$2,233
Intimiste
Gabriel Quirant - Pidet
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$558
Prisme
Gabriel Quirant - Pidet
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$558
Fragment 2
Gabriel Quirant - Pidet
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$558
Fragment 1
Gabriel Quirant - Pidet
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$558
La lune n'a rien à craindre des loups #9
VAM / Jean-Pierre Gilson
Photography - 59.5 x 79.5 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.4 x 31.3 x 0.2 inch
$2,456
La lune n'a rien à craindre des loups #1
VAM / Jean-Pierre Gilson
Photography - 80 x 120 x 0.5 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.2 inch
$3,572
La lune n'a rien à craindre des loups #2
VAM / Jean-Pierre Gilson
Photography - 80 x 120 x 0.5 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.2 inch
$3,572
Vivi Inspecting Her Navel
Sam Haskins
Photography - 42 x 59.4 cm Photography - 16.53 x 23.38 inch
$6,400
0205
Salvatore Arnone
Photography - 89.9 x 69.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 35.4 x 27.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,200
Nude Prisca - Série Soul - Black is Beautiful
Thierry Le Gouès
Photography - 100 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$10,046
HeartBeat, Selfportrait
Chiara Mazzocchi
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch
$553
Salle d'attente 6
Gatien Mabounga
Fine Art Drawings - 120 x 100 cm Fine Art Drawings - 47.2 x 39.4 inch
$2,791
Jason and Robin, Camber Sands
Richard Dunkley
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 inch
$458
Le feu sacré, Noto, août 2022
Veronica Mecchia
Photography - 18 x 24 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.4 inch
$670
Acanthus, Noto, Août 2021
Veronica Mecchia
Photography - 24 x 18 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 inch
$670
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!