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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Subcategories

Black and white

Iris

Manger

Rhyme II

California Poppy

Croyance

Vision 11

Vision 10

Vision 9

Hildegard Knef

Leaning tower of pizza Chicacago IL

Two flags east noir Chicago IL

Barbershop back in business Chicago IL

Pipe Plant M Linkman Pipe Co Chicago IL

Room with a view En

Après l'Orage

L'Atelier

Solitude

Coluche - Iconic portraits

Modelling for Saks Fifth Avenue

Élégance

Sans titre 5

L'homme du passé

Sans titre 4

Sans titre 3

Sans titre 2

Liz & Dick

Spirit of Forest

Double Wave Black

Portrait #8

Séduction #4

Heart

Hasufel

Sur ses Lèvres...

Beatles

Rembrandt, Frederick Rihel

Untitled

Untitled

Observation

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 57

Cra04 - Series from Crave

Tète d'autruche 1

C'est ici que j'ai perdu mes contours

Fear eats the soul

La Dualité

Las Memorías

Sonhos Silenciosos

Serge Gainsbourg au Palace

Octubre III

Steve McQueen.War Lover. Pensif

Camp Nou III

Life

Paris 13ème "Olympiades Vibes N°2" (M)

Paris 13 ème "Olympiades Vibes N°1"

Paris 13 ème Olympiades Vibes N°3

The Fastest Sagittal (Peregrine Falcon)

Skulls

Essence, II

Iconiques de Fabrizio La Torre - Set # 2 (Portfolio de 5 tirages) - Rome (1956)

Weary Grin

La route des sirénes

Frida Kahlo II

M. Reza Pahlavi

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

George Bernard Shaw

Albert Einstein

Provocateur