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Michael Jackson IX
David Nutter
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Michael Jackson VII
David Nutter
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
U2 - SkyDome, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Neil Young - Molson Park, Barrie
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Ozzy Osbourne - Black Sabbath, Ozz Fest, 1998
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Robert Plant - Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Neil Young - Cobo Arena, Detroit
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Roger Waters - Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Slash, Guns N' Roses - Toledo
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
The Police - Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Tony Bennett - Orillia, ON
Richard Beland
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Bruce Springsteen - Werchter, Belgium 2003
Richard Beland
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Chris Martin, Cold Play - The Church on Berkeley, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
David Bowie - Area Two Festival, Toronto 2002
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip - Ottawa
Richard Beland
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Iggy Pop - Toronto 1996
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Jeff Beck - Massey Hall
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Keith Richards, Rolling Stones - Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Keith Richards, Rolling Stones - Soldier Field, Chicago
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Kiss - Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Kiss - Copp's Coliseum
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Kiss - Copp's Coliseum
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Lenny Kravitz - Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Lou Reed - Massey Hall, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones - Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,466
Jeff Beck - Massey Hall, Toronto
Richard Beland
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,466
Man Holding Woman Head - Hipshot Series
Ken Heyman
Photography - 35.6 x 27.9 x 1.3 cm Photography - 14 x 11 x 0.5 inch
€3,869
James Rosenquist in Studio, 1964
Ken Heyman
Photography - 29.2 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11.5 x 14 x 0.5 inch
€4,642
Claes Oldenburg, 1964
Ken Heyman
Photography - 29.2 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11.5 x 14 x 0.5 inch
€4,642
Andy Warhol with 16mm Film Projector, 1964
Ken Heyman
Photography - 29.2 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11.5 x 14 x 0.5 inch
€4,642
James Rosenquist in Studio 2, 1964
Ken Heyman
Photography - 35.6 x 29.2 x 1.3 cm Photography - 14 x 11.5 x 0.5 inch
€4,642
Andy Warhol with Portraits, 1964
Ken Heyman
Photography - 29.2 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11.5 x 14 x 0.5 inch
€4,642
Gaudí 028
Ivanna Alejandra Sanchez Moretti
Photography - 60 x 80 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 inch
€800
Loren / Paris Match
Jack Garofalo
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€1,350
Bride for one day
Cristina Fontsare
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€600
Grand Palais, Paris
Jack Garofalo
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€850
The seller of old newspapers
Alain Le Chapelier
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
€700
Billiards at the castle
Alain Le Chapelier
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
€700
A Hombros. JT, Nimes, Francia.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€7,850
Paseíllo al mediodía, Nimes, Francia.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€7,850
Alberto López Simón. Las Ventas, Madrid.
Andrés Calamaro
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€7,850
Walk Along the Canal
Alain Le Chapelier
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
€780
The Woman with the Gulls
Alain Le Chapelier
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
€780
The End of the World
Alain Le Chapelier
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
€780
On the Kitchen Table 12
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
€2,300
Chimigramme 8/4/14 „Voltagramme“ in collaboration with Gundi Falk
Pierre Cordier
Photography - 60 x 50 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 inch
€12,000
Chimigramme 26/8/77 VI „Minimal Photography“
Pierre Cordier
Photography - 50 x 50 x 5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 2 inch
€17,000
Chimigramme 30/8/77 III „Minimal Photography“
Pierre Cordier
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€17,000
La tête dans la lune
Juliette Alhmah
Photography - 50 x 80 x 7.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 31.5 x 3 inch
€1,300
Madrid, Espagne
Jean-Christophe Béchet
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€690
Les porteuses d’eau, N'Djamena, Tchad
José Nicolas
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€350
Frida Kahlo en Coyoacán, México, (Framed)
Leo Matiz
Photography - 59.7 x 39.5 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.5 x 15.55 x 0.1 inch
€3,385
Frida Kahlo en xochimilco, México, (Framed)
Leo Matiz
Photography - 59.7 x 39.5 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.5 x 15.55 x 0.1 inch
€3,385
Notre-Dame de Paris
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 18 x 30 x 0.2 cm Photography - 7.1 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
€790
Tulipes en black and white
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.2 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
€790
Bouquet blanc
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 21 x 33 x 0.2 cm Photography - 8.3 x 13 x 0.1 inch
€790
Poisson d'argent
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 57 x 38 x 0.2 cm Photography - 22.4 x 15 x 0.1 inch
€1,340
Becs de Perroquets
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 36.9 x 24.6 x 0.2 cm Photography - 14.5 x 9.7 x 0.1 inch
€740
Bouquet de Gypsophiles
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
€990
The school in Storbyn
Miquel Wert
Fine Art Drawings - 89 x 116 cm Fine Art Drawings - 35 x 45.7 inch
€3,100
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!