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

Bruce Springsteen, Toronto 1984

Bruce Springsteen, Toronto

Chrissie Hynde, London 1979

Clash, Top of the Rock, NYC 1981

Clash, USA 1979

David Bowie, NYC 1983

Boy George, NYC 1983

Otras danzas, escena 4

Otras danzas, escena 3

Otras danzas, escena 2

Otras danzas, escena 1

Lunar

Debbie Harry NYC 1976

Clash Boston 1979

Clash NYC 1981

Yoko Ono Tokyo

Tin Machine NYC 1989

Clash & Bo Diddley, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland OH, 1979

Joe Strummer and Gaby, NYC, 1981

Kiss Orgy, NJ 1974

Robert Plant NYC 1974

Prince, Long Island NYC 1985

Kiss close up, NYC, 1975

The Rolling Stones, NYC 1980

Queen, MSG, NYC 1977

The Who, NYC 1976

Ramones NYC 1975

Jackson 5 and Janet Jackson, NYC 1975

Fickle Memory 02

Graciela

Estuary 1

Élément jaune (PM15)

Zone blanche (PM11)

A l'ombre d'un regard

Marée

A travers les vents

Point Break

Vin - Famille Adam's - Série : Carnotzet

Florence Pritchett Smith

Liz Pringle Refreshments in Jamaica

Jean Patchett for Saks Fifth Avenue

Seaplane At Palm Beach

Lévitation Effect 003

Écorce, portrait I

Andi with Leica M 3 and Yamamoto coat

Diamant Noir (medium print)

Le Petit Prince

Ghost

Évasion

Your Table Awaits (Marilyn Monroe)

Marilyn Candid Moment (1955)

WhatEyeAm II

Im

Racine

Mon illusion

Miroir de Loire

Bojagi

De la casa y el árbol III

Audrey Hepburn Profile

Audrey Hepburn Laying Down

Hansuben

Bios-G-VI

Marilyn Getting Ready To Go Out in New York (1955)

The Script (2012)

The KLF (1997)

Richard Ashcroft (1999)