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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Subcategories

Black and white

Nu à la pose

Net Prophet

The White Queen

Marilyn Monroe (1962) Orgasm

Petite fille au Ballon Paris rue de Rivoli

Untitled 214

Tribal

Penitent

Dressing Room

Strawberries & Cream

Nuée de neige

Indienne (3)

Sans titre (Un jour, une photo)

Fuen en El Louvre, Paris (Identity Assertions Series)

Détente en famille

Terminus

Isabelle Adjani

Kogure

Subdued

Homage

Obeisance

Nu Féminin / Female Nude - 5

Sweet Dreamer

Ageha

Slocombe Doll

Sugoi American Gothic

Sugoi Sugar Pill

Sugoi fairy Yoshii fairy

Sans titre

David

Ragolles et béruchet

Bird chante

Landscape sketch 6

Composition

Untitled

La folie du jour 2, Maurice Blanchot

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Alain Delon et Mireille Darc (1974)

Goliath

Les Alpilles / The Alpilles

Ombre et lumière #4

Marilyn in Vogue (1962)

Panthère strassée

Marilyn in Vogue (1962)

Gainsbourg & Birkin - Ne faisaient qu'un (1976)

Brigitte Bardot (Harley Davidson)

La Mana

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe. Bungalow

Norma Jean (1945)

Marilyn Monroe

Marylin Monroe (1949)

Danseurs immobiles 3

Manufactura 21

Car Montage (1962)

Feelin' the Surf (1962)

L'Enfer me ment (39)

Romy Schneider (1975)

180.10.2003

180.23.2003

Lichtmalerei 180.18.2003

1838

Sol

Paysages Irlandais 2

Paysages Irlandais 3

Paysages Irlandais 15