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Fil et aiguille
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
$603
Plume et encrier
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
$603
Bouteille et verre
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
$603
Amanda Lear - Couturière HQ
Klaus Roethlisberger
Photography - 70 x 54 x 0.2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 21.3 x 0.1 inch
$1,340
Flower totem print (black)
Robert Jaso
Photography - 26 x 26 x 3 cm Photography - 10.2 x 10.2 x 1.2 inch
$1,116
Making room with salt and light
Christa David
Photography - 76.2 x 55.88 x 2 cm Photography - 30 x 22 x 0.8 inch
$3,907
Swift (Identity promises series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$558
Anboto, Mari's home (Identity Testimonies series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$558
Untitled (DEC355458)
Katsuko Kuroya
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 30 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 11.8 inch
$179
Empire
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting - 200 x 200 x 4 cm Painting - 78.7 x 78.7 x 1.6 inch
$11,163 $10,605
Jeux d'enfants à Mongo, Tchad
José Nicolas
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$447
Protea Obtusifolia
Griselda Duch
Photography - 32 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 12.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$772
Protea Lacticolor
Griselda Duch
Photography - 32 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 12.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$772
Golden Tears - Black Swan
Anna Ahmatovic
Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$4,465
Place royale - Barcelone
Fabrice Quignette
Photography - 29 x 39 x 1 cm Photography - 11.4 x 15.4 x 0.4 inch
$558
Les Sans Logis
Fabrice Quignette
Photography - 39 x 29 x 1 cm Photography - 15.4 x 11.4 x 0.4 inch
$558
Chaparapluie rouge
Fabrice Quignette
Photography - 39 x 29 x 1 cm Photography - 15.4 x 11.4 x 0.4 inch
$558
La México. CDMX.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$8,763
El Payo. Aguascalientes, México.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$8,763
Le Ballet du grand Fleuve
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 13 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 5.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$391
Quand la brume s’étend
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 20 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$391
Non-accidental forms
Ryszard Gieryszewski
Print - 60 x 43 x 1 cm Print - 23.6 x 16.9 x 0.4 inch
$726
Où est Charlie ? IX
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 24 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$140
Robert Smith - The Cure - The Top Wet in London - Derniers tirages
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,791
La vie est belle
Udo Roosen
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,005
Protective Pooch
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Thatcher Decorating Ironing Lady
Arthur Steel
Photography - 86 x 66 x 1 cm Photography - 33.9 x 26 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Rocky Marciano British Boxers The Ring
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Uproar Landseer Lion
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Visitor At No 10 Downing Street
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Princess Anne Hat
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Baby Bugatti Tourer
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Parking Wars Traffic Warden
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Rolls Royces Baby Bugatti Bug
Arthur Steel
Photography - 66 x 86 x 1 cm Photography - 26 x 33.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,014
Majestueuse féline
Mathieu Pujol
Photography - 75 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.5 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,340
Temporality 5
Edin Mustafic
Photography - 51 x 37.5 x 1.5 cm Photography - 20.1 x 14.8 x 0.6 inch
$670
Temporality 4
Edin Mustafic
Photography - 51 x 37.5 x 1.5 cm Photography - 20.1 x 14.8 x 0.6 inch
$670
Temporality 3
Edin Mustafic
Photography - 51 x 37.5 x 1.5 cm Photography - 20.1 x 14.8 x 0.6 inch
$670
Temporality 2
Edin Mustafic
Photography - 51 x 37.5 x 1.5 cm Photography - 20.1 x 14.8 x 0.6 inch
$670
La famille avant tout
Mathieu Pujol
Photography - 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch
$949
Black Sea#1
Fabian Albertini
Photography - 140 x 110 x 3 cm Photography - 55.1 x 43.3 x 1.2 inch
$8,037
White Sea#3
Fabian Albertini
Photography - 150 x 120 x 3 cm Photography - 59.1 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch
$8,372
Pont Royal à Paris - série bords de Seine
Thierry Bazin
Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.5 cm Photography - 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.2 inch
$324
Terra Incognita - Breathe
Guillaume Pépy
Photography - 70 x 105 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 inch
$1,563
Terra Incognita - Katabasis
Guillaume Pépy
Photography - 70 x 105 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 inch
$1,563
Ballerina IV
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$218
Honfleur
Charles Malle
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 29.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 11.6 x 0 inch
$391
The River Barysh
Alexander Sviyazov
Sculpture - 41 x 24.5 x 17.5 cm Sculpture - 16.1 x 9.6 x 6.9 inch
$8,930
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!