Was the world black and white back then
Why Artists Choose Black and White Photography
For many years, black and white photography was the default. Following the advent of modern photographic film in the 1880s, photographers concentrated on mastering the “basics” of modern photography. It wasn’t until the 1930s that photographers began to tentatively explore color photography. In the 1960s, however, the world of photography became an explosion of color with the invention of instamatic cameras. Ever since, choosing black and white photography over color has been a very conscious choice.
You might be asking yourself, why would photographers choose black and white when color is so much more realistic, interesting and up to date ? In the eyes of many contemporary artists, this is not at all the case. Join Artsper to explore the mysterious allure of black and white photography.
There’s another world to discover in the monochrome…
To state the obvious, we live in a world of color. It’s what we’re used to. By choosing black and white, artists consciously seek to transport us to another realm, a different kind of world. For some, this represents an intriguing step towards the surreal, the opportunity to take a step a
Why Are Humans Different Colors? (Blog 42)
We all are different colors, aren’t we? People would say that I am a white person, but no one is really white when compared to a piece of copy paper. I may be light-skinned, but I’m technically not white-skinned. I do have some color in my pigmentation, thank you very much! The little song about all children being loved by God contains this phrase, “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.” This suggests that Native Americans may have a reddish tint in their skin color and Asians may have a yellowish tint in theirs. Black and white may seem self-explanatory, but almost unlimited variations of color are a part of these two basic shades. Why, then, are we different colors? It is primarily an issue of sunlight and vitamins – but keep reading! It is much, much more than chemistry.
Does It Matter?
Does it matter, the color of one’s skin? Yes and no – and both answers have a positive side and a negative side. Yes, it matters in ways that it shouldn’t. If skin color causes some people to feel superior or inferior to those of a different color, then that is bad, very bad. And we are dealing with more th
Although I attended film school, (a) it was two decades ago; and (b) I shamefully skipped many of the classes on film history.
As time has passed, I have become increasingly aware of just how poor of a decision it was to eschew the chance to learn more about the early days of film, and to learn from fascinating film scholars.
And so, I have set myself the mission to seek out older films to watch and to teach myself about the early days of film.
At the Berlin Film Festival a few weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure of watching a new restoration of Ernst Lubitsch’s black-and-white classic ‘Love Parade’ (1929).
The film is a delight for a number of reasons;
Maurice Chevalier is wonderful.
It’s a “talkie” only a few years after they took off.
It was the first Hollywood movie musical to integrate songs with narrative.
It was made before the Hayes code (meaning it’s quite salacious and cheeky).
The film made me wonder – when did colour and sound take over from black-and-white and silent movies?
I resolved to turn to the data to answer these two questions. I studied 377,967 feature films, released between 1900 and 2023. I’m going to share my findings on co
Black and White Images and the Distortion of History
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Throughout modern history, pictures have had a powerful effect on people; some have even led to regime shifts. There are poignant pictures that will forever be ingrained in our heads, such as the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square, the 1976 Soweto uprising and images of Nelson Mandela when he came out of prison.
It is important to note that black and pale images are not as appealing to the mind as pictures with colour. This is worrying because pictures that are historically significant are usually in ebony and white. When important historical pictures do not hold the interest of people, they will not be as topical as pictures with colour. In that case, history is in peril of seeming irrelevant.
We take for granted the effects that inky and white images have on our minds. As stated by Emily Lonie, black and pale photos often make events and moments in recent history touch older than they really are. This can cause youth to be disinterested in historical events. Children respond better when their material is in colour. As stated in the Creative childcare, “The right co
The Culturist
Walk around in the average parking lot, and you’ll find yourself in a sea of black, white, and silver vehicles. Watch Netflix at home or catch a film in the theaters, and you’ll get the same washed-out color grade on either screen. Glance at the logos of the world’s largest companies, and you’ll notice a shrinking palette.
It all points to one thing: color is vanishing from our world.
This isn’t just a hunch. Studies of everything from car paint to consumer objects show that we’re in the midst of a vast aesthetic shift. What used to be vibrant has become sterile. What used to pop out and catch our attention now fades into the background.
The question is — why?
The answer isn’t just about fashion or materials, but is rooted in a much older understanding of the relationship between color and truth.
Here’s why color is disappearing from our world, and what we can do to bring it back…
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