Black and white
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Denny Radoncic
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 45.72 x 60.69 x 0.5 cm Photography - 18 x 23.9 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
Will Moncada
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 60.69 x 45.72 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.9 x 18 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
Miles Reza
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 60.69 x 45.72 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.9 x 18 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
Breakfest
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 60.69 x 45.72 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.9 x 18 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
Miles Reza
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 60.69 x 45.72 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.9 x 18 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
Timo Maas
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 60.69 x 45.72 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.9 x 18 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
I-Type
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 43.35 x 35.75 x 0.5 cm Photography - 17.1 x 14.1 x 0.2 inch
$1,665
L'inconnue
Alain Longeaud
Photography - 50 x 65 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.2 inch
$1,387
Chien andalou
Alain Longeaud
Photography - 65 x 50 x 0.5 cm Photography - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
$1,387
Spinning the wheel, Oregon
Mindaugas Gabrenas
Photography - 19.5 x 19.5 x 0.2 cm Photography - 7.7 x 7.7 x 0.1 inch
$444
This Or Nothing
Alexander Benz
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$511
The ballerina
Andreas Sundgren
Photography - 105 x 140 x 0.1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 55.1 x 0 inch
$3,345
In Bed With Helmut
Alexander Benz
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$511
Série "Love is in the air" - 2
Line Taarnberg
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$444
Jour de marché
Jean-Guy Nakars
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$387
Baja Landscape #1
Heike Bohnstengel
Photography - 35 x 28 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 11 x 0 inch
$388
Self Portrait 1964
Anthony Horth
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$400
Late Shadows, Twin Palms
Heike Bohnstengel
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$438
Col de San Stefano
Sébastien Castillo
Photography - 20 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$244
Tête de Ventasuso
Sébastien Castillo
Photography - 20 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$244
Rock n roll
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.5 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.2 inch
$832
Femme Karo et son enfant. Ethiopie
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 90 x 70 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,443
Untitled #15
Leonardo Fernandez Della Pietra (Lolo)
Photography - 7 x 5 cm Photography - 2.8 x 2 inch
$277
Untitled #14
Leonardo Fernandez Della Pietra (Lolo)
Photography - 7 x 5 cm Photography - 2.8 x 2 inch
$277
Untitled #13
Leonardo Fernandez Della Pietra (Lolo)
Photography - 7 x 5 cm Photography - 2.8 x 2 inch
$277
Free Spirit nº3
Pierre Cherix
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$499
Ayrton Senna, quel Regard. F1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
$888
Sin título (Identity Assertions Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$527
Ohne titel (Identity testimonies series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$527
K´un y Ch´ ien
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$527
Draperie Ephémère sur la Meije
Jérome Obiols
Photography - 100 x 140 x 0.1 cm Photography - 39.4 x 55.1 x 0 inch
$4,107
Rue Cherche Midi 6ème
Amadou Gaye
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$444
Tenue Correcte Exigée
Amadou Gaye
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$444
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!