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!

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James Brown; singer, being interviewed after a concert in the Apollo in Harlem where the slogan Black is Beautiful was introduced.

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Categories

Subcategories

Black and white

Celebrating Life - #10

Celebrating Life - #8

Celebrating Life - #7

Celebrating Life - #3

A l'orient

Shopping on 57th and 6th

Fifth Avenue Admiral

Trinità dei Monti, Roma

Liz & Dick

Où est Charlie ? XI

Camp Nou III

Life

Warners Cinema

New York Dawn

WhatEyeAm IV

WhatEyeAm XI

Extérieur Nuit

Paris 13ème "Olympiades Vibes N°2" (M)

Paris 13 ème "Olympiades Vibes N°1"

Paris 13 ème Olympiades Vibes N°3

Foot de rue

Night tide

Twins, Central Park

14 juillet 1936 - Rue Saint Antoine Paris

Traveling Light,

L'ombre des âges

Gaze in lines

La Main au Collier

Rue Mouffetard

La Marquise

L’Éventail

Portrait #7

Le Gant

L’Attente

La Robe de Marie

L'aube de la première descente

Architectural Abstract 7

Femmes #13

The southern gentleman

Bas Résille

Michel Simon rue Saint Denis

Dustin Hoffman 2

Dustin Hoffman 1

Groom

Passion Fatale

Anboto, Mari's home (Identity Testimonies series)

Luna Toscana

Photographie fine art - Deux arbres heureux : paysage hivernal minimaliste en noir et blanc

WhatEyeAm V

WhatEyeAm IX

WhatEyeAm VI

Le Baiser

4 girls

WhatEyeAm III

WhatEyeAm I

Montmartoise

Cra04 - Series from Crave

Kuwait modern old city

Foggy city

Winter math, From the series winter soul

Igi, From the series winter soul

Forest grave, From the series winter soul

Marguerite Duras

5th Avenue give and take

Miami Stripes 09 11bn

Burgundy 7