Black and white
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Homme noir et blanc
Pascal Marlin
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 33 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 13 x 0 inch
€400
Robert Smith - The Cure - The Top Wet in London - Derniers tirages
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
€2,500
Sci sull'acqua Venezia
Vittorio Pavan
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€650
Fil et aiguille
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
€540
Plume et encrier
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
€540
Bouteille et verre
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
€540
Flower totem print (black)
Robert Jaso
Photography - 26 x 26 x 3 cm Photography - 10.2 x 10.2 x 1.2 inch
€1,000
Making room with salt and light
Christa David
Photography - 76.2 x 55.88 x 2 cm Photography - 30 x 22 x 0.8 inch
€3,500
Swift (Identity promises series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€500
Anboto, Mari's home (Identity Testimonies series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€500
Empire
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting - 200 x 200 x 4 cm Painting - 78.7 x 78.7 x 1.6 inch
€10,000
Jeux d'enfants à Mongo, Tchad
José Nicolas
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€400
Les arbres royaux
Nicolas Le Beuan Bénic
Photography - 100 x 100 x 0.1 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0 inch
€560
Place royale - Barcelone
Fabrice Quignette
Photography - 29 x 39 x 1 cm Photography - 11.4 x 15.4 x 0.4 inch
€500
Les Sans Logis
Fabrice Quignette
Photography - 39 x 29 x 1 cm Photography - 15.4 x 11.4 x 0.4 inch
€500
Chaparapluie rouge
Fabrice Quignette
Photography - 39 x 29 x 1 cm Photography - 15.4 x 11.4 x 0.4 inch
€500
La México. CDMX.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€7,850
El Payo. Aguascalientes, México.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€7,850
Où est Charlie ? IX
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 24 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€125
Kate Moss Venice Beach I
Christoph Martin Schmid
Photography - 44 x 33 cm Photography - 17.3 x 13 inch
€800
Protective Pooch
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Thatcher Decorating Ironing Lady
Arthur Steel
Photography - 86 x 66 x 1 cm Photography - 33.9 x 26 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Rocky Marciano British Boxers The Ring
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Uproar Landseer Lion
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Visitor At No 10 Downing Street
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Princess Anne Hat
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Baby Bugatti Tourer
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Parking Wars Traffic Warden
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Rolls Royces Baby Bugatti Bug
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
€2,700
Black Sea#1
Fabian Albertini
Photography - 140 x 110 x 3 cm Photography - 55.1 x 43.3 x 1.2 inch
€7,200
Golden Tears - Black Swan
Anna Ahmatovic
Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
€4,000
Pont Royal à Paris - série bords de Seine
Thierry Bazin
Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.5 cm Photography - 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.2 inch
€290
Oromo Lady of Bati
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
€3,048
Beauty in the Sahel
John Kenny
Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
€2,377
Ballerina IV
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€195
Rembrandt, Frederick Rihel
Lucio Forte
Painting - 29 x 22 x 0.1 cm Painting - 11.4 x 8.7 x 0 inch
€130
Samburu shepherd
John Kenny
Photography - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€3,048
The River Barysh
Alexander Sviyazov
Sculpture - 41 x 24.5 x 17.5 cm Sculpture - 16.1 x 9.6 x 6.9 inch
€8,000
Autos Tamponneuse (3)
Irène Jonas
Photography - 13 x 19 x 0.1 cm Photography - 5.1 x 7.5 x 0 inch
€500
Majestueuse féline
Mathieu Pujol
Photography - 75 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€1,200
Untitled (DEC355458)
Katsuko Kuroya
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 30 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 11.8 inch
€160
La famille avant tout
Mathieu Pujol
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
€850
1 Kilomètre #10
Laure Debrosse
Photography - 40 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
€500
Le Ballet du grand Fleuve
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 13 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 5.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€350
Quand la brume s’étend
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 20 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€350
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!