Collision of Art: Monochrome vs Polychrome

“Black and white are the colors of photography. To me, they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which markind is forever subjected.” – Robert Frank

Mario Giacomelli, I Have No Hands to Caress My Face, 1961-1963.

Noir & Blanc. A Story of Photography. Invented in 1871, the monochrome gelatin silver process relies on two values: light and dark. Without colors to distract the eye, black-and-white images appear stranger and more powerful in the 1950s and 1960s. With the advent of digital media, black-and-white photography still evokes a sense of history and nostalgia.

Colour Chart

Martin Parr, Foxing, Crimsworth Dean, 1977.

Martin Parr is best-known for his witty and humorous color photographs on global tourism. In the 1970s, he began his career with black-and-white photography and documented the north of England. Among the fox-hunting scenes, he reveals his typical sense of humor by drawing the audience's attention to the defecating dog at the lower right corner.

Gilbert Fastenaekens, Nocturne - The Haven, 1982.

Night-time photography was nearly impossible until the end of the 1800s. In his Nocturne series, Gilbert delivers a wide palette of gradations between black and white. The contrast of light and shadow projects a sculptural and poetic dimension to the architecture and public spaces, creating an eerie atmosphere in his images of the city at night.

Black Magic

Étienne Bertrand Weill, Light, 1964.

Created by the imprints of a luminous brush on a photosensitive surface, Weill’s “metaforms” work conveyed a visual transfer of movement and sensation, only with the light brushstrokes.

Rossella Bellusci, Still Life, 3rd Series, Bottle, 1988.

It is easy to overlook the expression “noir et blanc” into simply 2 ends of the light spectrum, “black” and “white”. However, there is a whole gradation of shades of gray in between. With the exceptional quality of silver papers in the 1970s, the achromatic palette highlights the surfaces and materials of monochrome photography and its enduring aesthetic of our time.

Light and Shadow

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, Place de l'Europe, Paris, France, 1932.

This image embodies the idea of the decisive moment, i.e. the precise moment when all elements come together to form a balanced, meaningful image. A man jumped over the water behind the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris. He demonstrated his ability to translate the beauty of the everyday, and transform an ordinary moment into an extraordinary one.

Fan Ho, Approaching Shadow, 1954.

Black and white tones carry their own symbolic weight. Once they converge, they create contrast and visual impact. To create striking compositions, Fan Ho often stages his photographs and experiments with geometric shapes. His cousin was asked to be the model in this work. He added the diagonal shadow in the darkroom, alluding the fading of youth.

Contrast

Chang Chao-Tang, Panchiao, Taiwan 1962, 1962.

To create the effect of decapitation, Chang Chao-Tang manipulated his shadow under the sun. Despite its “headless” appearance, the dark figure seems at ease, “staring” into nothingness. This powerful image belongs to a series of experimental photographs between 1962 and 1965, where he explored photography as an artistic medium through staged and absurdist actions.

Diane Arbus, Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, United States, 1966.

This iconic portrait of twin sisters is powerful in its ability to draw attention to the unusual and uncanny in the everyday. The black-and-white contrast underlines the fascinating and disturbing qualities of the image. Diane Arbus are often provocative to raise questions about the identity of the photographer and the viewer, as well as how the subjects are perceived.

Laurence Leblanc, Rithy, Chéa, Kim Sour et les autres-Chéa, Cambodia, 1987.

Between 1975 and 1979, the genocide killed around 3 million Cambodian by Khmer Rouge, nearly 25% of the population, under the leadership of Prime Minister Pol Pot. Laurence Leblanc has witnessed how the events weighed on the locals. She blurred the images to convey the feeling of a distant history, reflecting on the process of loss, healing, and memory.

Title: Noir & Blanc. A Story of Photography.

Date: 16 March 2024 to 1 July 2024

Location: M+, Hong Kong

Origin: Bibliothèque nationale de France, M+

“A work of visual art should attempt to employ as many of the colors that we can perceive as possible. By doing so one would be able to avoid later regret at not having used those colors, and to approach as closely as possible a representation of the truth of the universe.” – Ay-O

Ay-O, Inner Rainbow Skeleton, 1990.

By painting this human skeleton model, Ay-O invites us to think about truth and reality beyond our immediate senses and knowledge. For him, colors symbolize the truth that is everywhere yet invisible to our eyes until a prism breaks it up into a rainbow spectrum. Parallel to this idea, the human skeleton is also seen only through processes like an X-ray scan.

Ay-O, 96 Gradation Rainbow with Meditation (Left) and 96 Gradation Rainbow (Right), 1985.

Using 6 colors as the base, Ay-O multiplied each color to create chromatic formulas of 12, 24, 48, 96, and finally 192 gradations. He believes it is the limit for the human eye to discern the difference between colors. The exact order of the colors reveals the existence of nature. Thus, it is crucial and mostly unchangeable under various experiments.

Ay-O, Long Long Rainbow Painting, 1967.

The over 10m long canvas is one of his largest paintings. He regards painting as an extension to the viewers. These projects, namely Rainbow Happening series and the Rainbow Environment series, have been hanging on a ferry boat in New York in 1967; between the World Trade Center buildings in 1977; and from the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1987.

Title: Ay-O: Hong Hong Hong

Date: 15 December 2023 to 5 May 2024

Location: M+, Hong Kong

Origin: Japanese artist Ay-O

Movana Chen, Knitting Conversations, 2013-2019.

When it was first exhibited in 2013, the audience was invited to bring along treasured books and share their significance. Movana Chen thus read the books and shred the pages, turning them into “yarn” and knitting them into the work. This is how an artist created intimate connections that transcend time and space, and nurtured a room for sharing emotions and ideas together.