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Flat iron
Jean-Michel Berts
Photography - 205 x 95 x 2 cm Photography - 80.7 x 37.4 x 0.8 inch
$7,797
N°100.150-24 19 (NG86)
Nicolas Galtier
Painting - 100 x 150 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch
$4,824
Winter wind
Mihaela Ivanova
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$763 $687
Winter wind II
Mihaela Ivanova
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$763
La vieja guajira
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
$778
Capucine 1957 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 76.2 x 50.8 cm Photography - 30 x 20 inch
$3,029
Untitled - Expression no. 2
Jackson Pollock
Print - 74 x 58.5 x 0.2 cm Print - 29.1 x 23 x 0.1 inch
$49,364
Gretchen Van de Kamp Ward In Gustave Tassell
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101 x 101 x 0.01 cm Photography - 39.8 x 39.8 x 0 inch
$4,039
Florence Pritchett Smith
Slim Aarons
Photography - 51 x 41 x 0.01 cm Photography - 20.1 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$2,569
Spirit of Forest
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 130 x 97 x 10 cm Photography - 51.2 x 38.2 x 3.9 inch
$4,151
Fickle Memory 02
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 100 x 70 x 3 cm Photography - 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch
$898
Music
Kalliope Amorphous
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0.05 inch
$2,200
The Body Electric
Kalliope Amorphous
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0.05 inch
$2,200
Persephone
Kalliope Amorphous
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0.05 inch
$2,200
Air jordan - Big meeting
OverSide
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$393
Paris confinement
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Marilyn looking up in the wedding veil
Bert Stern
Photography - 48 x 33 cm Photography - 18.9 x 13 inch
$2,794
Série : Se faire passer pour Mao
Nathalie Daoust
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
$2,805
Série : Se faire passer pour Mao
Nathalie Daoust
Photography - 60 x 90 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 inch
$2,805
Self Portrait… aka Yella v2.6 Dream Within A Dream
LosOtros Mj Tom
Painting - 100 x 280 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 110.2 x 0.4 inch
$3,590
Journey to Kilimanjaro
Drew Doggett
Photography - 41.9 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 16.5 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Crossing Time
Drew Doggett
Photography - 43.8 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 17.25 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Paris confinement Musée d'Orsay
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 17 x 31 x 1 cm Photography - 6.7 x 12.2 x 0.4 inch
$954
Paris confinement 21
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris confinement 20
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,066
Paris Tour Eiffel
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 24 x 18 x 1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.4 inch
$898
Paris tour tour Eiffel 1
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 24 x 18 x 1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.4 inch
$898
Champ de maïs
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 46 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 18.1 x 0.4 inch
$1,458
Paysages forêt II
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 30 x 46 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 18.1 x 0.4 inch
$1,458
Le Roi de la baie
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 39 x 59 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.4 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$505
L'équilibre parfait
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 39 x 59 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.4 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$505
Porte de l'Enfer
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 39 x 59 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.4 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$505
Sainte Barbe
Philippe Grincourt
Photography - 39 x 59 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.4 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$505
Jackson 5 and Janet Jackson, NYC 1975
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
$2,500
New Year's At Romanoff's
Slim Aarons
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 1 inch
$5,000
Lucky For Some Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$3,983
NY Lights 1953 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$3,983
Race Meeting - 1950 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
$3,377
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!