Black and white
Save your search and find it in your favorites
Saved search
Your search is accessible from the favorites tab > My favorite searches
Unsaved search
A problem occurred
Végétation à Palenque - Mexique
D-A Woisard
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
€800
Premières vacances, Sud de la France
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Digestion, Paris
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Premiers bouchons, Nice
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Même combat, New York
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Jardin Suspendu, Singapour
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Surfer en roulant, Singapour
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Au bout de l'horizon, Kenya
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
€1,900
Lipstick Cigarette II (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
€48,359
Lipstick Cigarette II (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 142.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 56 x 72 inch
€24,179
Lipstick Cigarette II (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
€14,508
Lipstick Cigarette II (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
€9,672
Hat Tu Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
€48,359
Hat Tu Silhouette (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 137.2 x 182.9 cm Photography - 54 x 72 inch
€24,179
Hat Tu Silhouette (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
€14,508
Hat and Gloves Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
€48,359
Gunslinger Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
€48,359
Gunslinger Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
€19,343
Gunslinger Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
€9,672
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
€48,359
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
€19,343
Champagne Pour Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
€9,672
Bunny Silhouette III
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
€48,359
Bunny Silhouette III
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
€19,343
Mouths (Black and White) (2)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
€48,359
Mouths (Black and White) (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 121.9 x 182.9 cm Photography - 48 x 72 inch
€24,179
Mouths (Black and White)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
€9,672
Moonlight Sonata (4)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
€48,359
Moonlight Sonata (3)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
€19,343
Nina Hagen, Grèce
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€1,500
Pete Townsend
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€1,500
The Girl in the Phone Booth (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
€4,836
The Girl in the Phone Booth
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
€2,418
The Couple Out The Window (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
€4,836
The Couple Out The Window
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
€2,418
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!