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!

Search by Image

Save your search and find it in your favorites

4/100 1 2 3 4 5 6 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Categories

Subcategories

Black and white

Sans titre

View of Rotterdam

Children

The Hooded

Secret Invasion

Sans Titre

Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw France

The Brig

New York Glitter

Twickenham Streaker

Bateau à sec sur le lac Baïkal

From Valentina to O

Amazing Spiderman

Swarighat 02

Ray Charles

Untitled VII. From the series chiromorphose

Spiral Stairwell

Monica Bellucci

Flower Girl Faces - Paris Harper's Bazaar

Black Flag

Masque

Choreography

Memento I

Coq expressif

Âne

Pirelli Bouchra

Erotica Plume 2006 Feather

Little Buddha

Shadow of Camels

Gabriel García Márquez Portrait

Kate Moss

Marie Agnes Gillot - Opera National de Paris

Tropico 7

Dream Lake 2

Sauter (Überspringen)

Selfie @ Altitude - Belgium

Eclipse

Portrait of Sabau (too much pressure)

Ost und West, 1945

Première Pierre

Le baiser

Senza titolo

Audrey Hepburn

Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch

Legend

Shoot again (887)

Sans 1

Marilyn Monroe in Niagara

Marilyn Monroe

Coffret Au chic parisien - Tiré à part # 2

El templo de santa Barbara

E.Doll n°65

Culinary Atronomy #1

Peak Mid Winter #4

Collection Elisabeth Wessel (Villa Arson)

Elizabeth Taylor Spain

Belmondo / Paris Match (1)

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais

Photographie de Brigitte Bardot

Bertrand de Broc

Rya forest

Joiner’s Shop Cairo

Lovecraft

Last London Bus

Thunderball Casino James Bond 007

Trellick Tower