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Girl in the Window (4)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
$50,000
Girl in the Window (3)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 121.9 x 182.9 cm Photography - 48 x 72 inch
$25,000
Girl in the Window (2)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
Girl in the Window (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
$10,000
Girl in the Pond (2)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
Mère et enfant
Marie Dorigny
Photography - 120 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$3,349
Nina Hagen, Grèce
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$1,674
Pete Townsend
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$1,674
André Villers Photograph of Picasso's Atelier
André Villers
Photography - 48.9 x 41.28 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.3 x 16.3 x 0 inch
$3,907
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 49.53 x 58.4 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.5 x 23 x 0 inch
$3,907
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 53.34 x 48.26 x 0.1 cm Photography - 21 x 19 x 0 inch
$3,907
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 40.64 x 50.8 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 0 inch
$3,907
André Villers Photograph of Picasso
André Villers
Photography - 40.64 x 50.8 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 0 inch
$3,907
Keith the New Barbarians
John Rowlands
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
$1,350
Mick Jagger Rolling Stones Tour 1972
John Rowlands
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
$1,350
Mick Jagger Rolling Stones Tour 1972
John Rowlands
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 2 inch
$1,600
Marion - Île de beaulieu - Nantes - série Danse photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
Kévin - Le mur - La poste - Nantes - série Danse photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
Jessie - Halles Alstom - Nantes - série photo Danse Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
MC Solaar, Daddy Lord C et JP Manova - Médiathèque Françoise Sagan - Paris - Concert de JP Manova pour la radio Le Mouv' - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
Pépé, une seconde avant - Festival Fête du Bruit - Saint Nolff - Concert du groupe Deluxe - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
Pépé, saxophoniste du groupe Deluxe - Le Stéréolux - Nantes - Dans les coulisses de l'Olympia d'Ibeyi - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
L'homme à la guitare - Le Trianon - Paris - Avant première du concert de Guts - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
IBEYI23 Olympia - L'Olympia - Paris - Dans les coulisses de l'Olympia d'Ibeyi - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
Dany Dan - La Carrière - Saint Herblain 2013 - Dans les coulisses du festival Hip Opsession - série photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
Emily - Le Bataclan - Concert de Jukebox Champions - Paris 2014 - série Photo Noir et Blanc
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$324
A Beautiful Imperfection
KaYe Canonigo
Print - 29.7 x 21 x 3 cm Print - 11.7 x 8.3 x 1.2 inch
$1,563
André Villers Photograph of Picasso's Atelier
André Villers
Photography - 47 x 41.91 x 0.1 cm Photography - 18.5 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$3,907
The Mystery of the Helicopter
Tyler Shields
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 cm Photography - 20 x 30 inch
$2,500
The Art of Distortion 7
Paula Golemo
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$201
The Art of Distortion 8
Paula Golemo
Photography - 40 x 32 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 12.6 x 0 inch
$201
8th Position Silhouette
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
$15,000
Pierre Desproges
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 25 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$502
Coluche - Iconic portraits
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$502
Coluche - Iconic portraits
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$670
The Mystery of the Helicopter (3)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 121.9 x 182.9 cm Photography - 48 x 72 inch
$25,000
The Mystery of the Helicopter (2)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 152.4 cm Photography - 45 x 60 inch
$15,000
The Mystery of the Helicopter (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
$10,000
On Top
Noa Grayevsky
Photography - 8.847 x 10.752 x 0.2 cm Photography - 3.5 x 4.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,674
L'homme seul, New York 2018
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 105 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 41.3 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,126
Expérience shopping, Alcúdia
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$3,126
Fête Nat, Singapour
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$3,126
Bain de soleil à l'abri, Deauville
Christelle Yambayisa
Photography - 70 x 105 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 41.3 x 0.4 inch
$3,126
Sans titre
Julien Drogoul
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.1 inch
$1,005
Sans titre
Julien Drogoul
Photography - 90 x 60 x 0.3 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,005
Serge Gainsbourg au Palace
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$502
Jean-Marc Barr
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$670
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!