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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Black and white

Backgammon By The Pool

Walking the Dog

Soho Waiters’ Race

Saks Fashion Show

Inga Lindgren And Poodles

New Hampshire Skiing

New England Skiing

Missouri Hunt

Lucky For Some Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print

NY Lights 1953 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print

Race Meeting - 1950 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print

Luxury Dining - Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print

Park Avenue - 1953 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print

Palm Bay Club - 1965 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print

Man with Black Sand

Pulse

Man Risen: from the Blanco series.

Retiro in May

Randonnée au bord du lac

Composition 2

Bright path - Size L

River - Size L

La Délicate - Size L

Queen of Flowers - Format L

September affair

Eden Hartford

Debutante ball

Saks fashion show

Last-minute adjustments

Burlington Arcade

Cricketers on the Pitch

Inga Lindgren and Poodles

Saks Fifth Ave

Untitled, New York Series 18

Untitled, New York Series 2

Dendara

Soho Waiters’ Race

Cranmore Mountain Skiers

Backgammon By The Pool

Shadowfax

Ebony Jet. Girlfriend, NYC

Bono

M228

M271

M420

Plant Study No. 70

Pallium

Bloodroot No. 5

Wild Rose No. 4

Magnolia No. 34

Snake

Still life II

Cherry Blossom No. 10

Le Bar Fer à Cheval

Sous le Pont

Chez Louise

La Grande Dame

Rolling Stones, NYC

Kiss, NYC

Piscine Molitor 85

Gretchen Van de Kamp Ward In Gustave Tassell

Round Medusa

Lady Avery

Whisper in Motion

Stillness

Arbres d'Oléron - série Paysage de Nature insulaire

Joy

Street in Paris 5