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!
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 90 x 90 cm Painting . 35.4 x 35.4 inch
CHF 3,853
Recommended by Artsper
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 29.5 x 41.5 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.6 x 16.3 inch
CHF 337
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 65 x 92 x 2 cm Painting . 25.6 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch
CHF 3,756
Recommended by Artsper
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 28 x 40 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11 x 15.7 inch
CHF 337
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 100 x 30 x 2 cm Painting . 39.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
CHF 2,408
Recommended by Artsper
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 29.5 x 41.5 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.6 x 16.3 inch
CHF 337
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 68 x 100 x 3 cm Painting . 26.8 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
CHF 4,045
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 29.5 x 41.3 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.6 x 16.3 x 0.1 inch
CHF 337
Recommended by Artsper
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 100 x 30 x 2 cm Painting . 39.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
CHF 2,408
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 90 x 130 x 3 cm Painting . 35.4 x 51.2 x 1.2 inch
CHF 5,298
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Painting . 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
CHF 4,816
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 29.5 x 41.5 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.6 x 16.3 inch
CHF 337
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 89 x 116 x 3 cm Fine Art Drawings . 35 x 45.7 x 1.2 inch
CHF 4,912
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 35.5 x 24.8 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 14 x 9.8 x 0 inch
CHF 337
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 24.5 x 34.5 cm Fine Art Drawings . 9.6 x 13.6 inch
CHF 337
Guillaume Chansarel (Guiyome)
Fine Art Drawings . 29.5 x 41.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.6 x 16.3 x 0 inch
CHF 337
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 61 x 45.7 x 1.9 cm Painting . 24 x 18 x 0.75 inch
CHF 2,155
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 50.8 x 40.6 x 1.9 cm Painting . 20 x 16 x 0.75 inch
CHF 1,293
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 61 x 50.8 x 1.9 cm Painting . 24 x 20 x 0.75 inch
CHF 2,069
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 61 x 50.8 x 1.9 cm Painting . 24 x 20 x 0.75 inch
CHF 2,586
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 40.6 x 50.8 x 1.9 cm Painting . 16 x 20 x 0.75 inch
CHF 1,552
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 76.2 x 61 x 1.9 cm Painting . 30 x 24 x 0.75 inch
CHF 3,276
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 61 x 76.2 x 1.9 cm Painting . 24 x 30 x 0.75 inch
CHF 2,672
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 76.2 x 61 x 1.9 cm Painting . 30 x 24 x 0.75 inch
CHF 3,621
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 61 x 76.2 x 1.9 cm Painting . 24 x 30 x 0.75 inch
CHF 3,621
Recommended by Artsper
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting . 61 x 50.8 x 1.9 cm Painting . 24 x 20 x 0.75 inch
CHF 2,759
Recommended by Artsper
Marie Aimer
Painting . 50 x 65 x 0.2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.1 inch
CHF 1,445
Recommended by Artsper
Marie Aimer
Painting . 50 x 65 x 0.2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.1 inch
CHF 1,445
Recommended by Artsper
Sounya Whang
Painting . 50 x 40 x 0.2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
CHF 742
Recommended by Artsper
Sounya Whang
Painting . 80 x 60 x 0.1 cm Painting . 31.5 x 23.6 x 0 inch
CHF 1,589
Recommended by Artsper
Sounya Whang
Painting . 120 x 78 x 0.2 cm Painting . 47.2 x 30.7 x 0.1 inch
CHF 2,841
Recommended by Artsper
Sounya Whang
Painting . 50 x 36 x 0.1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 14.2 x 0 inch
CHF 568
Recommended by Artsper
Sounya Whang
Painting . 65 x 25 x 0.1 cm Painting . 25.6 x 9.8 x 0 inch
CHF 559
Recommended by Artsper
Elodie Dollat
Painting . 100 x 50 x 3 cm Painting . 39.4 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
CHF 2,697
Recommended by Artsper
Elodie Dollat
Painting . 80 x 60 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
CHF 2,601
Recommended by Artsper
Elodie Dollat
Painting . 116 x 73 x 5 cm Painting . 45.7 x 28.7 x 2 inch
CHF 4,334
Recommended by Artsper
Elodie Dollat
Painting . 116 x 89 x 4 cm Painting . 45.7 x 35 x 1.6 inch
CHF 4,334
Recommended by Artsper
Themanfromthefuture Urano
Painting . 90 x 117 x 2 cm Painting . 35.4 x 46.1 x 0.8 inch
CHF 1,830
Recommended by Artsper
Themanfromthefuture Urano
Painting . 110 x 85 x 2 cm Painting . 43.3 x 33.5 x 0.8 inch
CHF 1,541
Recommended by Artsper
Jean-Pierre Le Boul'ch
Fine Art Drawings . 13.5 x 19.5 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 5.3 x 7.7 x 0.1 inch
CHF 482
Gilles Alliaume
Fine Art Drawings . 30 x 30 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
CHF 327
Gilles Alliaume
Fine Art Drawings . 30 x 30 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
CHF 327
Gilles Alliaume
Fine Art Drawings . 30 x 30 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
CHF 169
