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!

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Subcategories

Black and white

Inachevé

La zone

La passerelle du Croaë

Instable

Diane Kruger II

Empreinte d'ardoise 7

Backyard Beatles - Hand Signed Limited Edition Print

Bright path - Size XS

Black Iris - Size XS

Défense - Size L

La Délicate - Size XS

Queen of Flowers - Format S

Queen of Flowers - Format XS

The southern gentleman

Paul-Émile Victor

Marcel Carné

Anatomie 8

L'annonciation (Islande)

Retour au centre (Islande)

La série : Orogenèse - Anonymous (Gibraltar 00951)

La série : Orogenèse - Jackson

Sourire Omar

Bouche homme

Bouche femme

Jeune touareg

Sant Titre

Horse & Jockey

Water Lilies (Identity Revelations series)

Ladies Tea Party

Angus Young AC/DC

Dune - Limited Edition of 20 Fine Art Prints

Deluxe - Le saut final - Nantes - Salle de concert Stéréolux 2019 - série photo noir et blanc

Self portrait #25

On the moon 13 - série portraits de femmes (1)

Stationary Traveler

Terra Nova

Lighting-up time

Rhinocopter

Making Waves

In the Still of the Night in New York

Per vederci chiaro, 1962, (pour y voir clair)

Il peso degli anni, 1962 (Le poids de l’âge)

Poveri ma belli, 1955 (pauvres mais beaux)

Sonate Hivernale

La misurazione dello spazio

Où est Charlie ? IX

Storm Series (Ref 845)

Man eaten alive by chest of drawers whilst searching for a missing sock

Photo 081023.1655

November Mist

Peruvian Sharman

Andi with hat

Perspective rurale

Prince

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Billy Joel

George Michael

George Michael

The Who Pete Townshend

Rolling Stones

Marc Bolan

John Lennon

Jerry Hall

Keith Richards Rolling Stones

Keith Richards

New Barbarians - Keith Richards & Ronnie Woods