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

Atelier de porcelaine II

Atelier de porcelaine I

Fours traditionnel à bois pour le porcelaine

Angst / Anxiety / Anxiété 1896

HK - Skyline

Le Bel Essor

Spring amidst the beech

King Mysterious

At Peace

Autoportrait

Steve McQueen. La grande évasion. L'attente

Mémoire de JingDeZhen Pause

Mémoire de JingDeZhen Atelier 6

Hanoi 1-01

Femme voilée dans le Bengale occidental. Inde

Figure

Diamant - Blanc et Noir

Baltic_Ice_II_Helsinki_012

Hub

Estels

Estel blanc

Dick Annegarn

Cinematography inspired sessions #1

Untitled 160

Michael Stipe

B. B. King

B. B. King

Conversation

Billiards, Toronto

Ombre et lumière III

L'Aube

The devil is here #1

Chancay VIII

China Mochado

Rue Mouffetard

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Shakespeare

Ombre et lumière 7

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Ombre et lumière #5

Ombre et lumière II

Village YaoLi

Groupe

Autoroute

Forêt

Nature morte II

Nature morte I

Éolienne

Garage

Forêt

Neige

En route VIII

En route VII

Discus thrower

Mémoire de JingDeZhen Village 7

Mémoire de JingDeZhen village 6

Mémoire de JingDeZhen Village 4

Mémoire de JingDeZhen village YaoLi

Mémoire de JingDeZhen village II

Mémoire de JingDeZhen village

Fleurs III

Voilier de tradition. Brest. Voile

Lewis Hamilton. MacLaren. Espagne. 1