Black and white
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Symbiose n.1 - Format S
Manon Deck-Sablon
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€450
CyClOpS - Format M
Louis Blanc
Photography - 50 x 50 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€5,000
CyClOpS - Format S
Louis Blanc
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€4,900
Body of leaves - Format XS
Clara Diebler
Photography - 12 x 8 x 1 cm Photography - 4.7 x 3.1 x 0.4 inch
€100
Purity - Composition 27-1
Idan Wizen
Photography - 90 x 180 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 70.9 x 0.4 inch
€4,650
Smoking Away - Size XS
Clara Diebler
Photography - 12 x 8 x 1 cm Photography - 4.7 x 3.1 x 0.4 inch
€100
Body of leaves - Format S
Clara Diebler
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
€150
Diverse
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 150 x 117 x 0.1 cm Photography - 59.1 x 46.1 x 0 inch
€4,100
No40 Spirit Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 152 x 152 x 0.1 cm Photography - 59.8 x 59.8 x 0 inch
€4,100
Smoking Away - Size S
Clara Diebler
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
€150
Out the shade
Mourad Cherifi
Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.02 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0 inch
€1,200
Hat and Gloves Silhouette (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 45.7 x 45.7 cm Photography - 18 x 18 inch
€2,426
No10 Spirit Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 100 x 80 x 3.5 cm Photography - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.4 inch
€3,640
Sensation n°2, 2016
Mathieu Trautmann
Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch
€1,300
Hat and Gloves Silhouette (M)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 30 x 30 inch
€4,853
The Bunny In The Window (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 58.4 cm Photography - 30 x 23 inch
€4,853
The Bunny In The Window
Tyler Shields
Photography - 50.8 x 38.1 cm Photography - 20 x 15 inch
€2,426
Collection Purity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon - HB1371
Idan Wizen
Photography - 30 x 20 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0 inch
€150
Hat Silhouette (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 177.8 x 177.8 cm Photography - 70 x 70 inch
€48,527
Hat and Gloves Silhouette (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 cm Photography - 60 x 60 inch
€19,411
Hat and Gloves Silhouette (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 114.3 x 114.3 cm Photography - 45 x 45 inch
€9,705
Élise & Céline
Théo Gosselin
Photography - 60 x 40 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,600
Collection Purity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon - HB1592
Idan Wizen
Photography - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€300
Collection Purity - Un Anonyme Nu Dans Le Salon - HB1383
Idan Wizen
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
€300
Des culs et des cailloux n°1
Manon Deck-Sablon
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
€150
A Frog Atop Water (XXL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
€48,527
A Frog Atop Water (XL)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 121.9 x 182.9 cm Photography - 48 x 72 inch
€24,264
A Frog Atop Water (L)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 cm Photography - 40 x 60 inch
€14,558
The Goddess of Olympia (4)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
€48,527
The Goddess of Olympia (3)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 121.9 x 182.9 cm Photography - 48 x 72 inch
€24,264
The Goddess of Olympia (2)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 cm Photography - 40 x 60 inch
€14,558
The Goddess of Olympia (1)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
€9,705
The Mystery of the Helicopter (4)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 160 x 213.4 cm Photography - 63 x 84 inch
€48,527
The Bunny In The Window (4)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 213.4 x 160 cm Photography - 84 x 63 inch
€48,527
The Bunny In The Window (3)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 182.9 x 137.2 cm Photography - 72 x 54 inch
€24,264
The Bunny In The Window (2)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 152.4 x 114.3 cm Photography - 60 x 45 inch
€14,558
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!