Black and white
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Notre Dame jour
Jean-Michel Berts
Photography - 110 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 43.3 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
$7,797
Koban Police station
Jean-Michel Berts
Photography - 105 x 125 x 2 cm Photography - 41.3 x 49.2 x 0.8 inch
$7,797
California Poppy
Justin Pumfrey
Photography - 101 x 76 x 0.01 cm Photography - 39.8 x 29.9 x 0 inch
$2,446
Marilyn Relaxes in A Hotel Room
Ed Feingersh
Photography - 76 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.9 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$998
Chaises longues
Jean-Michel Berts
Photography - 109 x 109 x 3 cm Photography - 42.9 x 42.9 x 1.2 inch
$5,722
Arcane XIV- La Tempérance
Richard Laillier
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 20 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.2 inch
$1,122
L'Enfer me ment. Hitodama (64)
Richard Laillier
Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 13 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.9 x 5.1 x 0.4 inch
$673
L'Enfer me ment (29)
Richard Laillier
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 15 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inch
$785
Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 57
Nadine Van Der Straeten
Print - 42 x 29.7 x 1 cm Print - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0.4 inch
$550
Bilbao 30/09/2010 15:22h. (Identity Promises Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$954
Le Grand Aréa, Hautes-Alpes, de la série Sur les chemins du Briançonnais
José Nicolas
Photography - 36 x 36 x 0.1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$561
L'Alpe du Lauzet, Hautes-Alpes, de la série Sur les chemins du Briançonnais
José Nicolas
Photography - 36 x 36 x 0.1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$561
David Bowie - The Archer
John Rowlands
Photography - 50.8 x 66 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 26 x 2 inch
$2,000
Nossa Senhora da Rocha Church
Gonçalo Martins
Photography - 36 x 29 x 0.1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 11.4 x 0 inch
$236
Série: photographie concrète numérique - IMG_2699 01.10.2013
Roger Humbert
Photography - 30 x 24 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 inch
$2,019
Série: photographie concrète numérique - IMG_2764 01.10.2013
Roger Humbert
Photography - 30 x 24 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 inch
$2,019
Série: photographie concrète numérique - IMG_2343 10.11.2012
Roger Humbert
Photography - 30 x 24 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 inch
$2,019
Lichtreflex Rotation
Hein Gravenhorst
Photography - 30 x 30 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 inch
$1,683
Diane Kruger III
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 46 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 18.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,683
La celebracion
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$909
In the Shadows
Drew Doggett
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Higher Ground
Drew Doggett
Photography - 50.8 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Mother's Grace
Drew Doggett
Photography - 61 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Défilé Mugler - Zénith 84
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,683
Electric Ball Room - London 83
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$1,571
Tiger's Retreat
Drew Doggett
Photography - 50.8 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Titans of Time
Drew Doggett
Photography - 61 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$3,310
Unyielding Giant
Drew Doggett
Photography - 63.5 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 25 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Annie Lennox - Eurythmics
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
$1,571
Laughing memories
Samuel Cueto
Photography - 80 x 120 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.4 inch
$8,975
Sands of the Himalaya
James Sparshatt
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$1,243
Paris confinement Sacré Cœur
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris confinement Conciergerie
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris confinement Pont Neuf
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris confinement église de la Madeleine
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris confinement Place Vendôme
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris confinement 30
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
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!