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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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Photography, Ancho, John Kenny

Ancho

John Kenny

Photography - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$3,528

Photography, 1915 FRUITS, Eugène Druet

1915 FRUITS

Eugène Druet

Photography - 43 x 54 cm Photography - 16.9 x 21.3 inch

$2,325 $1,162

Photography, Untitled #42, Josef Nadj

Untitled #42

Josef Nadj

Photography - 25 x 30 cm Photography - 9.8 x 11.8 inch

$1,311

Photography, Untitled, Chema Madoz

Untitled

Chema Madoz

Photography - 60 x 50 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 inch

$7,332

Photography, Mêlée III, Michel Birot

Mêlée III

Michel Birot

Photography - 60 x 190 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 74.8 x 0 inch

$2,086

Photography, Source, Michel Birot

Source

Michel Birot

Photography - 40 x 107 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 42.1 x 0 inch

$1,788

Photography, Linger, Mihaela Ivanova

Linger

Mihaela Ivanova

Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch

$1,086 $924

Photography, Samoa, Michel Birot

Samoa

Michel Birot

Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0 inch

$3,934

Print, AG 4, Sergi Aguilar

AG 4

Sergi Aguilar

Print - 76 x 56 cm Print - 29.9 x 22 inch

$417

Print, Mother, Kim Westcott

Mother

Kim Westcott

Print - 120 x 90 cm Print - 47.2 x 35.4 inch

$4,649

Photography, Broken, Cécile Baldewyns

Broken

Cécile Baldewyns

Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.2 inch

$954

Photography, Horns of Africa, John Kenny

Horns of Africa

John Kenny

Photography - 67 x 45 x 2 cm Photography - 26.4 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch

$1,122

Photography, Festival, Nir Hadar

Festival

Nir Hadar

Photography - 80 x 120 x 2 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

$3,500

Photography, A days walk, John Kenny

A days walk

John Kenny

Photography - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$2,251

Photography, 1915 Julia, Eugène Druet

1915 Julia

Eugène Druet

Photography - 54 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch

$2,325 $1,162

Photography, Kogure, Nathalie Daoust

Kogure

Nathalie Daoust

Photography - 45 x 67 x 2 cm Photography - 17.7 x 26.4 x 0.8 inch

$1,311

Photography, Ageha, Nathalie Daoust

Ageha

Nathalie Daoust

Photography - 45 x 67 x 2 cm Photography - 17.7 x 26.4 x 0.8 inch

$1,311

Print, Untitled, Sam Francis

Untitled

Sam Francis

Print - 56 x 76 cm Print - 22 x 29.9 inch

Sold

Fine Art Drawings, Sol, Muriel Patarroni

Sol

Muriel Patarroni

Fine Art Drawings - 116 x 81 x 4 cm Fine Art Drawings - 45.7 x 31.9 x 1.6 inch

Sold

13/100