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

Triangulation

Don't Go Away

Uncage

Empyreal

Intermission II

Body Language

Immanence

Respirare et Vivet

Naiad II

Archaeology

Angle of Repose

It's in your own mind

Elevation

Don't Tell Mamma #12

Don't Tell Mamma #11

Invacuo Project #32

Invacuo Project #30

Invacuo Project #24

Self Touches #10

Kouros

Sans 4

Sans titre

Asteria

Turning Point

Half Angels Half Demons #12

Sans nom

Sans nom

Secret partagé

L'autre rive

Untitled

Naïade

Reflets dans l’eau

Jambe en l’air

Aphrodite

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 60

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 30

Kællingedigte Poemes a la garce (Jens August Schade)

Kællingedigte Poemes a la garce (Jens August Schade)

Desire magie

Charisma III

Eyes

Awakening of the senses 1925

Nuit Blanche

Rixe Urticante

Fusione

Epreuve 2

Dark swan

Bail croat

On the Bowery #2

Lovelovelove

Au soleil du matin

Casaba's nude

Gaetan's Place

Fashion Watch me

Aux Bains Deligny

Untitled

Ladies-in-waiting

Mathilda

Cathédrale

Chicago Funky Budha Lounge

Portrait Renverse

La Dame de la Gabinière

Nu de dos

Nu au bain

Du bout des doigts 1

Forest