Black and white
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Le petit marseillais - Collection Hey Mars
Rodrigo
Photography - 23.8 x 14.7 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 5.8 x 0 inch
$561
De la série : La beauté des femmes - aspiration
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 18 x 23 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.1 inch
$1,346 $1,010
De la série : La beauté des femmes - thoughtfull
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 20 x 15 cm Photography - 7.9 x 5.9 inch
$1,346 $1,023
De la série : La beauté des femmes - On the warpath
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 20 x 15 cm Photography - 7.9 x 5.9 inch
$1,346 $1,010
De la série : La beauté des femmes - upwards
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 15 x 20 cm Photography - 5.9 x 7.9 inch
$1,346 $1,010
Rhythmogramm Triennale
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$12,341
Rhythmogramm Klangfläche
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch
$9,424
Rhythmogramm Verzeichnis Nr: 03782_000_253
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0 inch
$6,507
Rhythmogramm 183 A
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 59.4 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$1,515
Rhythmogramm 183A
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 59.4 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$1,515
Aus dem Gruppenbuch der Christiane P. - „Es Gibt Nur Eine Wahrheit.“
Matthias Leupold
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,010
8th Position Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Girl in the Phone Booth (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Girl in the Phone Booth
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Couple Out The Window (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Couple Out The Window
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Mandy Smith
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$1,683
Végétation à Palenque - Mexique
D-A Woisard
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
$898
Back Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
$50,000
Back Silhouette (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
$20,000
Phonebooth Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
Phonebooth Silhouette (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch
$25,000
Phonebooth Silhouette (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
Phonebooth Silhouette (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
$15,000
Two Glasses of Champagne (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
$50,000
Two Glasses of Champagne (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
$20,000
Two Glasses of Champagne (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
$10,000
The Two Step Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
$50,000
The Two Step Silhouette (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
$20,000
The Two Step Silhouette (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
$10,000
The Mystery of the Borrowed Dress (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
The Mystery of the Borrowed Dress (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch
$25,000
The Mystery of the Borrowed Dress (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
The Mystery of the Borrowed Dress (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
$10,000
The Lady and the Lion (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
$50,000
The Lady and the Lion (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
$20,000
The Lady and the Lion (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
$10,000
Legs Up Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
$50,000
Legs Up Silhouette (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
$20,000
Legs Up Silhouette (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
$10,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch
$25,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette (45" x 60")
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
$10,000
8th Position Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
Water Mouths Monochrome
Tyler Shields
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 cm Photography - 16 x 20 inch
$2,500
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!