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Antonio Banderas, Portrait intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 187.9 x 132 x 3 cm Photography - 74 x 52 x 1.2 inch
€7,191
Pharrell Williams, Third Eye, Photography on canvas Intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 187.9 x 132 x 3 cm Photography - 74 x 52 x 1.2 inch
€7,191
El Perdido
Patrick Beaulieu
Photography - 27.9 x 35.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 11 x 14 x 0.1 inch
€1,400
Lewis Hamilton II, Portriat on canvas Intervened.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 187.9 x 132 x 3 cm Photography - 74 x 52 x 1.2 inch
€7,191
Jon Kortajarena, Portrait on canvas Intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 187.9 x 132 x 3 cm Photography - 74 x 52 x 1.2 inch
€7,191
Street comfort
Paul J Bucknall
Photography - 61 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 16 x 0.1 inch
€643
Reed Bowie Jagger Hug
Mick Rock
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€2,460
Pharrell Williams #3 Portrait intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 114 x 82.5 x 0.3 cm Photography - 44.9 x 32.5 x 0.1 inch
€5,753
Frida Kahlo en xochimilco, México, (Framed)
Leo Matiz
Photography - 39.5 x 59.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.55 x 23.5 x 0.1 inch
€3,356
Le temple d'argent au Japon
Thierry Bazin
Photography - 37 x 37 x 0.5 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.2 inch
€490
Pont - Domaine de Chamarande - Essonne
Thierry Bazin
Photography - 37 x 37 x 0.5 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.2 inch
€490
Le Quai de Seine à Paris - série bords de Seine
Thierry Bazin
Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.5 cm Photography - 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.2 inch
€290
Le Quai aux fleurs à Paris - série bords de Seine
Thierry Bazin
Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.5 cm Photography - 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.2 inch
€290
Le talon Murmure à l'Oreille
Éric Lambé
Print - 43.5 x 41 x 0.1 cm Print - 17.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
€250
Lumière végétale III
Nicolas Le Beuan Bénic
Print - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Print - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€280
Peripheral visions - 11
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 100 x 150 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 inch
€1,800
Peripheral visions - 10
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
€1,200
Peripheral Visions - 08
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 100 x 150 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 inch
€1,800
Peripheral Visions - 07
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
€1,200
C918 - 21
Stephane Charpentier
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€1,800
The Way of the Salt Worker - 12
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 11
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 09
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 08
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 06
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 05
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
Taking pictures/ Their life-Cameroon
Gilbert Ryu
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€750
Reserved/Their life-Cameroon
Gilbert Ryu
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€750
Miss Guy, NYC (Extra Large)
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 203.2 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 80 x 60 x 0.1 inch
€14,383
Tabboo! (Stephen Tasjian), NYC (Extra Large)
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 203.2 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 80 x 60 x 0.1 inch
€14,383
Lavinia Co-op, NYC (Extra Large)
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 203.2 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 80 x 60 x 0.1 inch
€14,383
Dorian Corey, Wigstock, NYC
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€7,671
Kabuki Starshine, Wigstock, NYC
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€7,671
Lady Bunny, Wigstock, NYC
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 inch
€7,671
Girlfriend, Portfolio of 9 photographs
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 167.6 x 129.5 x 0.3 cm Photography - 66 x 51 x 0.1 inch
€14,383
The Way of the Salt Worker - 04
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 03
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 02
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
The Way of the Salt Worker - 01
Bruno Palisson
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€900
Tatacoa II, Pigment Prints
Miguel Winograd
Photography - 91.9 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36.2 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
€2,397
Untitled 18
Ghylan Safadi
Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 75 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 29.5 inch
€2,109
Magnetic Radiation 99 (Large)
Seb Janiak
Photography - 180 x 135 cm Photography - 70.9 x 53.1 inch
€7,349
Bosque Alto Andino Chingaza
Miguel Winograd
Photography - 35.6 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 14 x 11 x 0.1 inch
€479
Rhythms of Resilience IV
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 75 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€750
Rhythms of Resilience II
Gauthier Bouret
Photography - 75 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€750
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!