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!
Feng Hatat
Photography . 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
CHF 976
Recommended by Artsper
Feng Hatat
Photography . 45 x 30 x 1 cm Photography . 17.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
CHF 585
Recommended by Artsper
Rodrigo
Photography . 53 x 35.1 x 0.1 cm Photography . 20.9 x 13.8 x 0 inch
CHF 1,950
Recommended by Artsper
Rodrigo
Photography . 35.6 x 23.7 x 0.1 cm Photography . 14 x 9.3 x 0 inch
CHF 1,560
Recommended by Artsper
Rodrigo
Photography . 27.1 x 19.4 x 0.1 cm Photography . 10.7 x 7.6 x 0 inch
CHF 1,950
Recommended by Artsper
Rodrigo
Photography . 26.7 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography . 10.5 x 15.7 x 0 inch
CHF 1,950
Recommended by Artsper
Albena Vatcheva
Design . 76 x 76 x 0.16 cm Design . 29.9 x 29.9 x 0.1 inch
CHF 781 CHF 703
Recommended by Artsper
Albena Vatcheva
Fine Art Drawings . 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
CHF 243 CHF 231
Albena Vatcheva
Painting . 120 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 47.2 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
CHF 1,170 CHF 1,054
Recommended by Artsper
Albena Vatcheva
Painting . 100 x 50 x 2 cm Painting . 39.4 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
CHF 1,649
Recommended by Artsper
Albena Vatcheva
Painting . 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting . 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
CHF 2,234
Recommended by Artsper
Albena Vatcheva
Painting . 70 x 50 x 0.4 cm Painting . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
CHF 1,025 CHF 974
Recommended by Artsper
Albena Vatcheva
Painting . 100 x 60 x 2 cm Painting . 39.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
CHF 2,527
Recommended by Artsper
Donald Sultan
Sculpture . 91 x 86 x 0.6 cm Sculpture . 35.8 x 33.9 x 0.2 inch
CHF 7,805
Recommended by Artsper
Pierre Molinier
Painting . 18 x 32 x 1 cm Painting . 7.1 x 12.6 x 0.4 inch
CHF 2,732
Recommended by Artsper
Pierre Molinier
Fine Art Drawings . 20 x 22 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 7.9 x 8.7 x 0 inch
CHF 5,854
Pierre Molinier
Fine Art Drawings . 39 x 29.8 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 15.4 x 11.7 x 0 inch
CHF 5,854
Pierre Molinier
Fine Art Drawings . 12.5 x 10 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 4.9 x 3.9 x 0.4 inch
CHF 4,879
Recommended by Artsper
Pierre Molinier
Photography . 13 x 9 x 1 cm Photography . 5.1 x 3.5 x 0.4 inch
CHF 1,464
Recommended by Artsper
Pierre Molinier
Photography . 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.1 cm Photography . 5 x 3.3 x 0 inch
CHF 3,708
Recommended by Artsper
Sam Francis
Print . 64.2 x 49.2 x 0.2 cm Print . 25.3 x 19.4 x 0.1 inch
CHF 5,074
Recommended by Artsper
Sam Francis
Print . 53.5 x 46 x 0.2 cm Print . 21.1 x 18.1 x 0.1 inch
CHF 2,830
Recommended by Artsper
Sam Francis
Print . 70.5 x 108.5 x 0.3 cm Print . 27.8 x 42.7 x 0.1 inch
CHF 4,781
Recommended by Artsper
Joseph Beuys
Fine Art Drawings . 17.05 x 11.05 x 0.4 cm Fine Art Drawings . 6.7 x 4.4 x 0.2 inch
CHF 2,732
Joseph Beuys
Fine Art Drawings . 40 x 50 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
CHF 1,747
Joseph Beuys
Fine Art Drawings . 13.5 x 9 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings . 5.3 x 3.5 x 0.2 inch
CHF 1,854
Marcel Gromaire
Fine Art Drawings . 40.5 x 49.5 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings . 15.9 x 19.5 x 0.1 inch
CHF 6,733
