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

Où est Charlie ? VII

Plant Study No. 25

Hanging Leaves No. 7

Hanging Leaves No. 6

Hanging Leaves No. 5

Cairn 6

Cairn 9

Cairn 10

Cairn 4

Ocean Nightscape No.3

Gretchen Van de Kamp Ward In Gustave Tassell

Elton John & Stevie Wonder, 1975

Amnesty International

Staring into Space, Mondrian

Contemplation

Michel

Durer chez l'ocultiste

Abstract Clouds n°305

Abstract Clouds n°306

Lyana au miroir

Enfance 1

River - Size XS

X is for Xylophonist

Above the Clouds #1

All Ears

1915 Félix Vallotton Nuages et tempête Tempest and clouds

Céréales 3

Paris 13ème "Olympiades Vibes N°2" (M)

Paris 13 ème "Olympiades Vibes N°1"

Paris 13 ème Olympiades Vibes N°3

Tuareg vision of intensity

Sara

Ada XXI

Celebrating Life - #23

Celebrating Life - #22

Celebrating Life - #20

Celebrating Life - #17

Celebrating Life - #15

Celebrating Life - #14

Celebrating Life - # 12

Celebrating Life - #11

Celebrating Life - #9

Celebrating Life - #6

Celebrating Life - #5

Celebrating Life - #4

Celebrating Life - #2

Celebrating Life - #1

Raquel Welch On The Beach

Portrait #6

Memories 6

Octubre III

Pesadumbre

Paris Notre Dame Cathedrale de Paris 7

Paris Notre Dame Cathedrale de Paris 6

Paris Notre Dame Cathédrale de Paris II

Paris Notre Dame Cathédrale de Paris

Paris bateaux mouche I

Paris bateaux mouches

Paris Moulin Rouge

Paris II

Storm Series (Ref 844)

Composition

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 74 & 75

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 12 & 13

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 2 & 3

Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 72