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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James Brown; singer, being interviewed after a concert in the Apollo in Harlem where the slogan Black is Beautiful was introduced.

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Categories

Subcategories

Black and white

Untitled IV. From The Balance Series

Marilyn nineteen (1945)

Joy

The southern gentleman

The Skelligs by moonlight

Bagan by moonlight

Sands of the Himalaya

Waiting for Brasil

Realm of Aodh

Delta Zulu Paris

Notre Dame de Neige

M228

M271

M420

Éphémère Sensualité #2

Un jour, un instant dans le temps (MR20)

Why - Red Light Version

Vision of light (Identity Dreams Series)

Sans titre

Night tide

Keith Richards and Mick Jagger

Tom Waits

Prince

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Billy Joel

George Michael

George Michael

The Who Pete Townshend

Rolling Stones

Marc Bolan

John Lennon

Jerry Hall

Keith Richards Rolling Stones

Keith Richards

New Barbarians - Keith Richards & Ronnie Woods

Bruce Springsteen

The Who Pete Townshend

Mick Jagger

Angus Young AC/DC

Mick Jagger

Angus Young AC/DC

Billy Joel

David Bowie

Mick Jagger

Siouxsie Sioux

Bob Marley

David Bowie

Tom Waits

Femmes #13

Malcolm X during his visit to enterprises owned by Black Muslims.

USA. NYC. Marilyn Monroe.

USA. Marilyn Monroe (USA). Actress & singer

Cuba - Havana

USA. Illinois. Bement. US actress Marilyn Monroe during a public appearance.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, American Ballet Theatre - NYC

Spain. Mallorca. Anthony QUINN and Anna KARINA on the set of Guy Green's The Magus.

New York, Model, Drusilla Dru Beyfus.

Sylvana Mangano (ITA), at the Museum of Modern Art, USA

GB. Shepperton. Film Set Becket, Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton

John and Angelica Huston (USA). 1968

USA. NYC. Black is Beautiful.

USA. New York. American actress Marlene Dietrich.

James Brown; singer, being interviewed after a concert in the Apollo in Harlem where the slogan Black is Beautiful was introduced.

Charlotte Stribling. USA. New York City USA.

USA. Nevada and California. The Misfits, a film by John HUSTON. 1960 III

USA. Arizona. James Stewart on the set of The flight of the phoenix.