Black and white
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'Z'
Eugénie Lichet
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$114
'K'
Eugénie Lichet
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$114
J-
Eugénie Lichet
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$114
G-
Eugénie Lichet
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$114
'D'
Eugénie Lichet
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$114
'C'
Eugénie Lichet
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$114
Teatro
Robbie Cornelissen
Fine Art Drawings - 125 x 125 cm Fine Art Drawings - 49.2 x 49.2 inch
$7,105
La danseuse
Karine Nicolleau
Photography - 27.5 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 10.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$261
The perfect picture
Kamal Obat
Photography - 58.4 x 41.7 x 2.5 cm Photography - 23 x 16.42 x 1 inch
$450
Enlightened #4
Karine Nicolleau
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$330
Enlightened #3
Karine Nicolleau
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$330
Série : Lalibela, près du ciel - anges regardant, Ethiopie
Cristina García Rodero
Photography - 120 x 80 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 inch
$17,620
"Vert 2 Gris" - Arboretum de Versailles-Chèvreloup
Vesna BECHA-BOJOVIC
Photography - 16 x 27 x 0.2 cm Photography - 6.3 x 10.6 x 0.1 inch
$142
Torrent du Plan Chevalier, Hautes-Alpes, de la série Sur les chemins du Briançonnais
José Nicolas
Photography - 36 x 36 x 0.1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$568
Paysage d'hiver du refuge du Chardonnet, Hautes-Alpes, de la série "Sur les chemins du Briançonnais"
José Nicolas
Photography - 36 x 36 x 0.1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$568
Paysage d'hiver du refuge du Chardonnet, Hautes-Alpes, de la série "Sur les chemins du Briançonnais"
José Nicolas
Photography - 36 x 36 x 0.1 cm Photography - 14.2 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$568
Sin título (Identity Assertions Series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$540
Ohne titel (Identity testimonies series)
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$540
003-American Circus Paris
José Nicolas
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$625
Amazing stairway
Rani Bruchstein
Photography - 100 x 150 x 2 cm Photography - 39.4 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch
$9,162
K´un y Ch´ ien
Imanol Marrodán
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$540
Secours en Montagne
José Nicolas
Photography - 40 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$625
Somalienne et son enfant
José Nicolas
Photography - 50 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$739
Late Shadows, Twin Palms
Heike Bohnstengel
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$449
Rendez-vous mon amour 3
Emeline Blanquet
Photography - 18 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$261
Miles Davis - Courbé
Hervé Pezzini
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch
$284
Girl with Baby
Larry Snider
Photography - 30.5 x 30.5 x 0.6 cm Photography - 12 x 12 x 0.25 inch
$400
Under the Bridge
Christophe Battifero
Photography - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$477
Rod Stewart, Small Faces
Jean-Pierre Roux
Photography - 30 x 40 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 inch
$557
Johnny Thunders and friend
Jean-Pierre Roux
Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
$557
John Travolta
Francis Apesteguy
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$557
Self Portrait 1964
Anthony Horth
Photography - 30 x 24 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$400
Trois volcans
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 52 x 72 x 0.5 cm Photography - 20.5 x 28.3 x 0.2 inch
$568
Maroc (piézographie)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 60 x 43 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.9 x 0.2 inch
$625
Tipis (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 60 x 85 x 0.5 cm Photography - 23.6 x 33.5 x 0.2 inch
$1,137
Tokyo crossing V
Sven Pfrommer
Photography - 150 x 75 x 3 cm Photography - 59.1 x 29.5 x 1.2 inch
$3,399
Per qualche dollaro in più
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 49 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.3 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$966
Reservoir (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$625
Exodus (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$625
Exodus (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$625
Exodus (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$625
Exodus (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50.5 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.9 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$625
Montagne rocheuse (Piezography)
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 75 x 66.6 x 0.5 cm Photography - 29.5 x 26.2 x 0.2 inch
$625
Rock n roll
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 80 x 80 x 0.5 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.2 inch
$853
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!