Black and white
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Horror Vacui II, Black Doodle
Marie Julou (Tina McCallan)
Painting - 61 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$1,124
May the sky be my testimony
Ana Zegheanu
Photography - 20 x 20 x 0.02 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$180
OMO: Untitled 19
Drew Doggett
Photography - 45.7 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 18 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$1,650
OMO: Untitled 20
Drew Doggett
Photography - 45.7 x 68.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 18 x 27 x 0.1 inch
$1,650
Ali Patterson II
Gerry Cranham
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$865
Denpasar International Airport
Antoine Kubler
Photography - 29.7 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.7 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$281
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao 2
Antoine Kubler
Photography - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
$281
Quinta de Regaleira Cintra
Antoine Kubler
Photography - 29.7 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.7 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$281
Palm Light Tree
Hugo Gus Babey
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$955
Oh Lord won't you buy me...
Hugo Gus Babey
Photography - 67.4 x 120 x 0.2 cm Photography - 26.5 x 47.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,067
Veris
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 120 x 120 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 47.2 x 0 inch
$2,944
Paris confinement 4
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,067
Joséphine Hopper
Pauline Corto
Photography - 57 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 22.4 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$539
The St Andrews Club
Pauline Corto
Photography - 57 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 22.4 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$539
Mister Frey (Donald N.)
Pauline Corto
Photography - 57 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 22.4 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$539
Capri 1973's mirror
Pauline Corto
Photography - 57 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 22.4 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$539
Capri 1973's light
Pauline Corto
Photography - 57 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography - 22.4 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$539
Last man standing
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$778
Revolutionary Woman With Brush
Shepard Fairey (Obey)
Print - 61 x 46 cm Print - 24 x 18.1 inch
$1,674
Centauros III
Amrita Bilimoria
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 x 0.5 cm Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.2 inch
$5,500
Intellect
Amrita Bilimoria
Photography - 88.9 x 98 x 0.5 cm Photography - 35 x 38.6 x 0.2 inch
$3,000
Les architectures de l'ombre II.XXXIII (1)
Geraldine Wilcke
Photography - 60 x 90 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
$2,697
Manhattan et le Brooklyn Bridge, Novembre 1955 - New York
Fabrizio La Torre
Photography - 60 x 42 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,854
Queen / la corde cassée / La Villette / Paris
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
$1,686
Dear Irving...
Mourad Cherifi
Photography - 45 x 30 x 0.02 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,348
Sans titre (9)
Julien Drogoul
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.3 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.1 inch
$281
La Tortue de Kerlouan
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Arbres calcinés du champ de bataille 14-18
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Tranchées de Beaumont-Hamel 14-18
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Tour d'Ulster - Guerre 14-18
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Mémorial Australien de Villers-Bretonneux
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Mémorial Franco-Britannique de Thiepval 14-18 (1) (1)
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Cimetière Britannique de Contay 14-18
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 34 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13.4 x 20.1 x 0 inch
$180
Temple taoiste de Man Mo
Antoine Kubler
Photography - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch
$281
Lionel joue à Bacchus dans les vignes
Pierre Boulat
Photography - 24 x 36 x 0.3 cm Photography - 9.4 x 14.2 x 0.1 inch
$730
Paris Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris 5
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 18 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 7.1 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$899
Liz Pringle Refreshments in Jamaica
Slim Aarons
Photography - 41 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 16.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$2,191
Jean Patchett for Saks Fifth Avenue
Slim Aarons
Photography - 41 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 16.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$2,191
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!