Black and white
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Long day's journey into tomorrow
Elena Raceala
Photography - 91.4 x 61 cm Photography - 36 x 24 inch
$1,364
Street in Paris 5
Shengqi Tang
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$739
Stone Crossing, China. Silver gelatin print
Monica Denevan
Photography - 38 x 38 cm Photography - 15 x 15 inch
$1,061
Long white shirt. Silver gelatin print
Monica Denevan
Photography - 38 x 38 cm Photography - 15 x 15 inch
$1,061
Two opinions one truth
Robert Stieghorst
Photography - 30 x 26 x 2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 10.2 x 0.8 inch
$1,478
Je ne suis pas content
Ghislaine Ferreira
Painting - 32 x 24 x 1 cm Painting - 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$455
Tirages sur papier : concave
Gottfried Jäger
Photography - 60 x 50 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$17,052
Tirages sur papier : double croix - IX 1996
Gottfried Jäger
Photography - 50 x 50 x 3 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$17,052
Photo 111110.2
Gottfried Jäger
Photography - 70 x 70 x 3 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
$7,957
Photo 111103.5
Gottfried Jäger
Photography - 70 x 70 x 3 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
$7,957
God is in the details
Robbie Cornelissen
Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 21 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.9 x 8.3 x 0.4 inch
$1,200
Above the clouds #5
Cody Choi
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0 inch
$667
Act 9 | Hello? We need a doctor
Grzegorz Sikorski
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$284
Does your Gucci make you happi?
Brendan North
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 cm Photography - 20 x 16 inch
$1,550
Marguerite Duras
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$3,297
The Picture Frame Westminister Bridge
Arthur Steel
Photography - 48 x 61 x 1 cm Photography - 18.9 x 24 x 0.4 inch
$2,075
Too busy surviving to be angry
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,842
How do I have so many debts!
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,842
Don’t let me starve
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,842
I’m sure you did what you could
Idan Wizen
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,842
Baiser noir et blanc
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$3,297
Karl Largerfield soirée Kenzo
Arnaud Baumann
Photography - 80 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$3,297
In-between B2
Nikolay Stefanov
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.1 inch
$841
Mist Mountains
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$273
Storm Clouds and Fence (Canada)
Dwight Lu
Photography - 29 x 39 cm Photography - 11.4 x 15.4 inch
$550
Mt. Pulag Sunrise (Philippines)
Dwight Lu
Photography - 29 x 39 cm Photography - 11.4 x 15.4 inch
$550
Mahatao Lighthouse (Batanes, Philippines)
Dwight Lu
Photography - 29 x 39 cm Photography - 11.4 x 15.4 inch
$550
Lake and Cloud (Alberta, Canada)
Dwight Lu
Photography - 29 x 39 cm Photography - 11.4 x 15.4 inch
$550
Once Upon a Time
Rika Maja Duevel
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,375
Urbain brutalisme - Photographie digigraphie
Claire Giraudeau
Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
$171
Filets de lumières
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 17 x 31 x 1 cm Photography - 6.7 x 12.2 x 0.4 inch
$273
Où est Charlie ? II
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 80 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$557
Jet d'oiseaux sur Beaubourg
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$136
Écorce, portrait I
Yoann Merienne
Painting - 200 x 150 x 3 cm Painting - 78.7 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch
$13,641
Ear Cast
Lyubena Fox
Fine Art Drawings - 45 x 35 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 17.7 x 13.8 x 0.8 inch
$909
Sourire Omar
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 28 x 43 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11 x 16.9 x 0.1 inch
$796
Bouche homme
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$796
Bouche femme
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$796
Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 74 & 75
Nadine Van Der Straeten
Print - 42 x 59.4 x 1 cm Print - 16.5 x 23.4 x 0.4 inch
$784
Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 12 & 13
Nadine Van Der Straeten
Print - 59.4 x 42 x 1 cm Print - 23.4 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch
$671
Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 2 & 3
Nadine Van Der Straeten
Print - 42 x 59.4 x 1 cm Print - 16.5 x 23.4 x 0.4 inch
$671
Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 72
Nadine Van Der Straeten
Print - 59.4 x 42 x 1 cm Print - 23.4 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch
$671
Jeanne Hébuterne - Planche 116 & 117
Nadine Van Der Straeten
Print - 42 x 59.4 x 1 cm Print - 16.5 x 23.4 x 0.4 inch
$671
BB King On Stage - Guitar Starlight, LA Forum
Glen Craig
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
$1,500
The Muppets Backstage
Arthur Steel
Photography - 48 x 61 x 0.01 cm Photography - 18.9 x 24 x 0 inch
$2,103
Inisheer Limestone Walls
Arthur Steel
Photography - 48 x 61 x 1 cm Photography - 18.9 x 24 x 0.4 inch
$2,075
John Lennon Skiing
Arthur Steel
Photography - 48 x 61 x 1 cm Photography - 18.9 x 24 x 0.4 inch
$2,075
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!