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

Secret Look

"Pearls" la dernière séance (1962)

Nus rouges - Picasso Grand Palais

Marilyn Monroe. Baby Nude

Perspective

Marilyn Monroe 1962. New baby in silver

Raquel Welch on the Cross

ANT03 - Series from Antemortem

Madam Butterfly

Petite fille au Ballon Paris rue de Rivoli

Nuée de neige

Dagny

UNN06 - Series from Unnude

ANT06 - Series from Antemortem

Apassionato

Série Backstage - F0597 – The alien

Détente en famille

Kogure

Nu Féminin / Female Nude - 5

Ageha

Amy Winehouse (S)

Elton John standing at his piano (S)

Ferrari Tire Change (XS)

Umbrella Silhouette II (XS)

Umbrella Silhouette (S)

The Kiss Silhouette (S)

Gunslinger Silhouette

The Lion Queen

Umbrella Silhouette II (S)

Jean Shrimpton London Streets (M)

Sophia Loren

Sean Connery as Bond (M)

Robert Redford with Richard Helms (XS)

Dean Martin (S)

Paul McCartney at Ringo Starr’s Wedding (M)

Amy Winehouse (L)

Audrey Hepburn in Pool (Black and White) (S) (1)

Brigitte Bardot with Dog (Co-signed edition) (S)

Hat With Smoke (S)

Audrey Hepburn and William Wyler (Signed and Numbered by Terry O'Neill) (M)

Dancer In The Dark (S)

Splash

Monroe (1)

Pull

Pull (1)

A Frog Atop Water (S)

Torpedo (S)

The Goddess of Olympia

The Cat

David

Ragolles et béruchet

Landscape sketch 6

Untitled

La folie du jour 2, Maurice Blanchot

Mémoire de JingDeZhen

Ombre et lumière #4

Les Alpilles / The Alpilles

Puro... alegria

Música I

Goliath

Danseurs immobiles 3

Manufactura 21

Car Montage (1962)

Romy Schneider (1975)

L'Enfer me ment (39)

180.10.2003