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Hat and Gloves Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
Boîte n°42, de la série "Les Bouquinistes"
Irène Jonas
Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch
$1,118
Le rêveur, de la série "Les Bouquinistes"
Irène Jonas
Photography - 45 x 30 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 inch
$951
La croupe de Léda
Thierry Robert
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$559
Feuille enroulée
Thierry Robert
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$1,007
Frondes de fougère
Thierry Robert
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$559
Courbes et craquelures
Thierry Robert
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$559
Queen of Flowers - Format S
Clara Diebler
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$168
Two Glasses of Champagne Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$5,000
In Pursuit of Northern Light
Drew Doggett
Photography - 68.6 x 45.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27 x 18 x 0.1 inch
$1,650
The Road to Kazbegi
Emil Farber
Photography - 39.2 x 26 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.4 x 10.2 x 0 inch
$447
Life is Full of Possibilities
Marney-Rose Edge
Fine Art Drawings - 107 x 122 x 6 cm Fine Art Drawings - 42.1 x 48 x 2.4 inch
$1,790
Jump
Mourad Cherifi
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.02 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,510 $1,208
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Pascal Baril
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$503
Rhythmogramm Klangfläche
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch
$9,395
Rhythmogramm Verzeichnis Nr: 03782_000_253
Heinrich Heidersberger
Photography - 24 x 18 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0 inch
$6,487
Nadege - Paris - Bibliothèque François Mitterand - série photo noir et blanc danse et architecture
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$646
Liliboy - La pause - Nord-sur-Erdre - Festival La Nuit de l'Erdre - Groupe Deluxe 2019 - série photo noir et blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$646
Leron Thomas trompettiste - Nantes - Stéréolux - Concert de GUTS - série photo noir et blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$646
Jimmy Jay - Saint-Herblain - La Carrière - Festival Hip Opsession 2013 - série photo concert noir et blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$646
IBEYI - Deux minutes avant la scène - Paris - L'Olympia - série photo concert noir et blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$671
IBEYI & JR - Paris - L'Olympia - série photo concert noir et blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$671
Coste Hôtel Dieu - Nantes - série photo noir et blanc danse et architecture
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
$646
Pays #184
Philippe Bréson
Photography - 27 x 27 x 0.2 cm Photography - 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,007
Umbrella Silhouette II (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
$5,000
Umbrella Silhouette II (XS)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Lipstick Cigarette II (XS)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 38.1 x 50.8 cm Photography - 15 x 20 inch
$2,500
Pierre Desproges
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 25 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$503
Coluche - Iconic portraits
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$503
Serge Gainsbourg au Palace
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$503
Mikhail Baryshnikov, American Ballet Theatre - NYC
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
$2,350
New York, Model, Drusilla Dru Beyfus.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
$2,350
Sylvana Mangano (ITA), at the Museum of Modern Art, USA
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
$2,350
Lotus Ornament Large Format
Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 105 x 77 x 0.1 cm Print - 41.3 x 30.3 x 0 inch
$2,572
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!