Black and white
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Girls Night Out Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch
$25,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette (45" x 60")
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
Girls Night Out Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
$10,000
Femme au temple
Raynald Najosky
Photography - 56 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 22 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,221
Sumo 9
Raynald Najosky
Photography - 40 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,776 $1,598
The Art of Distortion 7
Paula Golemo
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$200
The Art of Distortion 8
Paula Golemo
Photography - 40 x 32 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 12.6 x 0 inch
$200
Kimono II
Raynald Najosky
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$777 $699
Les Dames du Lac
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 38 x 58 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15 x 22.8 x 0 inch
$1,554
Mont Fuji
Raynald Najosky
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$777 $699
On Top
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 8.847 x 10.752 x 0.2 cm Photography - 3.5 x 4.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,665
Premières vacances, Sud de la France
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
Digestion, Paris
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
Premiers bouchons, Nice
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
Même combat, New York
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
Jardin Suspendu, Singapour
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
Surfer en roulant, Singapour
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
Au bout de l'horizon, Kenya
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$2,109
New York City lanscape
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 35 x 35 x 0.2 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.1 inch
$1,110
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
8th Position Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Girl in the Phone Booth (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Girl in the Phone Booth
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$2,500
The Couple Out The Window (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
The Couple Out The Window
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Who will fly you there
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$277
Héros de l'ombre #6
Carlos Arriagada
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,387
Héros de l'ombre #3
Carlos Arriagada
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,554
8th Position Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
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!