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

13/100 1 10 11 12 13 14 15 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Categories

Subcategories

Black and white

Après-Ski on the Avus, Berlin

Low & Fast in the fjords, Norway

Sunrays through the clouds, Afghanistan

Kate Front Cover

Enlightened #4

Birds #7

Portrait #2

Fragmented-Untitled 6

Fragmented-Untitled 2

2877. From The ONE Series

Boat Girl

Miami Downtown 2017 16

Miami 02-14 02bn

Downtown Miami nov 2013 05bn

Biltmore water 08invbnsolbnpart

Miami Stripes 09 02bn

Old cars Miami 06bn.

Miami Downtown 13bn

Miami 10partbn2

Art Deco ott.c

Art Deco ott.b.

Montand, Signoret / Paris Match

Fernandel / Paris Match

Les Ombres

Passing

Red Rock Trail

Tahiti's Palm Cove

Grand Canyon in Sepia

White Horse in Landscape

Ancient Palms in Palm Springs

Basquiat

Enlightened #3

Elements (1)

Do u suffer 4 your sanity?

Dominant woman, Lagoon of Orbetello

Woman eating soup, New York

After lunch, Orbetello

Stumbling on her foot, Orbetello

Markings

Or Not

Birds #11

Birds #9

Birds #8

Birds #2

El Mundo entero

Paris

K´un y Ch´ ien

Street Life III

Wedding in military front-line Kharkiv

Frozen trees 24

Frozen trees 4

Frozen trees 13b

Frozen trees 22b

Flight

NYC - Oculus

Beware of the cat

Iman

Adia

Naomi Campbell

Cruising

Untouchable Light

Silhouette Portrait

Untouchable Light II

Roarie

Silhouette with hat

Silhouette VIII