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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Fickle Memory 02
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 100 x 70 x 3 cm Photography - 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
$596
Élément jaune (PM15)
Palmi Marzaroli
Painting - 49 x 63 x 0.2 cm Painting - 19.3 x 24.8 x 0.1 inch
$2,742
Zone blanche (PM11)
Palmi Marzaroli
Painting - 20 x 20 x 0.1 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$1,609
A l'ombre d'un regard
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$191
A travers les vents
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$191
Florence Pritchett Smith
Slim Aarons
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$3,398
Liz Pringle Refreshments in Jamaica
Slim Aarons
Photography - 41 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 16.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$3,398
Jean Patchett for Saks Fifth Avenue
Slim Aarons
Photography - 41 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 16.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$3,398
Seaplane At Palm Beach
Slim Aarons
Photography - 41 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 16.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$3,398
Lévitation Effect 003
Jean-Claude Byandb
Photography - 60 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$727
11h53 - 6,09, Crue de la Seine - Paris 2016
Julie Peiffer
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$846
Écorce, portrait I
Yoann Merienne
Painting - 200 x 150 x 3 cm Painting - 78.7 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch
$16,690
Andi with Leica M 3 and Yamamoto coat
Oliver Hadji
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$596
Diamant Noir (medium print)
Sinden Collier
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$1,907
Le Petit Prince
Jean François Humbert
Photography - 80 x 120 x 0.15 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.1 inch
$3,517
Marilyn Candid Moment (1955)
Ed Feingersh
Photography - 51 x 76 cm Photography - 20.1 x 29.9 inch
$787
Marilyn Getting Ready To Go Out in New York (1955)
Ed Feingersh
Photography - 61 x 51 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 inch
$942
Richard Ashcroft (1999)
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 101 x 76 cm Photography - 39.8 x 29.9 inch
$4,745
Red Hot Chili Peppers (1992)
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 101 x 76 cm Photography - 39.8 x 29.9 inch
$4,745
Billy Bob Thornton Smoking
Kevin Westenberg
Photography - 101.6 x 76.2 cm Photography - 40 x 30 inch
$4,745
Spring amidst the beech
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,623 $1,460
The house on the marsh
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,623
Frosted reeds
James Sparshatt
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0 inch
$1,623
Pierre Desproges
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 25 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$536
L'abreuvoir d'Eiffel
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$143
Vagues et Noir
Regis Duvignau
Photography - 38 x 48 x 1 cm Photography - 15 x 18.9 x 0.4 inch
$1,431
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
Marcel Sternberger
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 1.3 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 0.5 inch
$1,600
Directive Forces. Photograph intervened by the artists
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 50.8 x 39.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 15.5 x 0.1 inch
$3,800
Hole. Photograph intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 53.8 x 40.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 21.2 x 16.1 x 0.1 inch
$3,800
El barbudo
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,122 $1,010
La dama de la plaza
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$981 $883
Inga Lindgren And Poodles
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$4,399
Lucky For Some Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$4,232
NY Lights 1953 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$4,232
Race Meeting - 1950 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$3,588
Luxury Dining - Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$4,232
Park Avenue - 1953 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$4,232
Palm Bay Club - 1965 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 152.4 x 101.6 cm Photography - 60 x 40 inch
$4,232
Man with Black Sand
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Man Risen: from the Blanco series.
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,222
Retiro in May
Mihaela Ivanova
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$871
Jamie Dornan and Antonio Banderas, Diptych. Intervened by the artists.
Hunter & Gatti
Photography - 107 x 166 x 0.3 cm Photography - 42.1 x 65.4 x 0.1 inch
$10,000
Passion en chambre noire
Julie Peiffer
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
$775
Bright path - Size L
Clara Diebler
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,431
River - Size L
Clara Diebler
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,431
La Délicate - Size L
Clara Diebler
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,431
Queen of Flowers - Format L
Clara Diebler
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,431
September affair
Slim Aarons
Photography - 51 x 51 x 0.01 cm Photography - 20.1 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$4,077
Eden Hartford
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101 x 101 x 0.01 cm Photography - 39.8 x 39.8 x 0 inch
$4,757
Debutante ball
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101 x 76 x 0.01 cm Photography - 39.8 x 29.9 x 0 inch
$4,757