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

Mid Point 2

L'aube de la première descente

Éphémère Sensualité #2

Abstract Desert Reflections n°308

Loops 1

Bench Test

In God We Trust

Farandole 8

TRipOdiS - Collection cORpuS

Les funérailles heureuses, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzanie

Secrétaire Général, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzanie

L’effort mécanique Dar Es Salaam, Tanzanie

Matin d’Oyster Bay, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzanie

L’officier d’état civil ovin, Nyandira, Tanzanie

Sans titre (18)

Keith Richard’s, Baton Rouge

Piscine Molitor 85

Piscine Molitor 85

Piscine Molitor 85

Trace de vie

Goran

Bas Résille

Groom

Passion Fatale

Luna Toscana

Angeline

Photographie fine art - Deux arbres heureux : paysage hivernal minimaliste en noir et blanc

Le Baiser

Reflecting landscape 12

Reflecting landscape 10

Reflecting landscape 09

Reflecting landscape 08

Reflecting landscape 07

Reflecting landscape 06

Reflecting landscape 05

Reflecting landscape 04

Reflecting landscape 03

Reflecting landscape 02

Reflecting landscape 01

Warped Tulip

Ape, Thailand

Paysage aux sillons

Marianne Faithfull 82

Sumatra, Indonesia (XL)

Vallée de l’Omo, Ethiopia (L)

South Sudan (XL)

Manda Yawanawá, from the Village of Escondido, Rio Gregório Indigenous Territory, State of Acre, Brazil (S)

MP254

L'Escalier

Yoko Ono in black ribbed sweater, Central Park, NY 1973

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, MSG, NYC 1972

Mick Jagger, MSG, NYC 1972

Mick Jagger, NYC 1972

Patti Smith & Lou Reed, Ocean Club, NYC 1976

John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Yoko Ono, Record Plant, NYC 1972

Johnny Rotten & Sid Vicious, Europe, 1977

Jon Bon Jovi, Moscow 1989

John Lennon contact sheet, NYC 1975

Joe Strummer and Gaby, NYC, 1981

John Lennon and Elton John, Record Plant, NYC 1974

Bernie Taupin and Elton John, NYC 1971

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

Kiss NYC 1974

Black Sabbath NYC 1971

Alentour de la montagne 10

Lost Village_11