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Conceptual Black and White Photography

CONCEPTUAL STYLE

In 1967, artist Sol LeWitt wrote that in “Conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work.” He was giving a name to an art movement that had emerged in the 1960s in which artists were less focused on their medium being something traditionally “artistic” and instead engaged in using any object, movement, form, action or place to express an idea.

LeWitt’s work was featured alongside an assemblage of notes, drawings and outlines by other artists in “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art,” a groundbreaking show at New York City’s School of Visual Arts curated by Mel Bochner, another leading exponent of Conceptualism. Building on radical 20th-century statements, like Fountain (1917) by French artist Marcel Duchamp, Conceptual artists around Europe and North and South America were not interested in the commercial art scene and rather directly challenged its systems and values.

Stretching into the 1970s, this movement has also been called Post-Object art and Dematerialized art. Conceptual art reflected a larger era of social and political upheaval. Pieces associated with the style range from Roelof Louw’s Soul City (Pyramid of Oranges) (1967) — a work of installation art that sees fresh oranges stacked into a pyramid from which visitors are allowed to take one orange away — to On Kawara’s “Today” series, which saw the Japanese artist carefully painting a date in white acrylic on canvases consisting of a single color from 1966 to his death in 2014. Artists such as Ed Ruscha, who created the Twentysix Gasoline Stations book — a collection of photos of gas stations that is widely said to be the first modern artists’ book — made photography a major platform for Conceptual art, as did Bruce Nauman, who burned one of Ruscha's books and then photographed it for his own.

Conceptual art’s legacy of questioning artistic authorship, ownership and how to work with complex ideas of space and time had a significant influence on the decades of culture that followed, and it continues to inform art today.

The collection of Conceptual photography, paintings and sculptures on 1stDibs includes artworks by John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer, Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Kosuth and others.

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Style: Conceptual
Recognized Seller Listings
Untitled, MT Inv. No 9-1-56 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 9-1-56 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 28,4 x 19,5 cm (11 1/8 x 7 5/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

East of Lancaster, CA by Robbert Flick, 1981, Silver Gelatin Print, Photography
By Robbert Flick
Located in Dallas, TX
East of Lancaster, CA by Robbert Flick is a 16 x 20 in silver gelatin print. This print features 49 small images of black and white landscapes presented in a grid. Each image measures 1 5/8 x 2 1/8 inches. This print is from Robbert Flick's Sequential Views series from his America Roads Portfolio. It is signed, titled and dated by Robbert Flick. Robbert Flick, Professor Emeritus, is a Southern California artist who uses photography as his primary medium. He has been exhibiting his photographs for over 50 years and his work has been shown and collected by numerous private and public venues both nationally and internationally. He is the recipient of multiple fellowships and in 2001 was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Arts. The retrospective Robbert Flick: Trajectorieswas shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2004 accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition catalog co-published by LACMA and Steidl. In 2016 Nazraeli Press published “Robbert Flick LA Diary”. He is represented by ROSE Gallery in Santa Monica and Robert Mann...
Category

1980s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 2-059 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 2-059 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 19,6 x 12,5 cm (7 3/4 x 4 7/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-185 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-185 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 14,9 x 10,4 cm (5 7/8 x 4 1/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-3-11 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-3-11 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 22,9 x 17,1 cm (9 x 6 3/4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pract...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-431 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-431 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 15 x 9,8 cm (5 7/8 x 3 7/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pra...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-54 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-54 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 23,4 x 14,5 cm (9 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 11-1-120 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 11-1-120 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17,9 x 13 cm (7 x 5 1/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pract...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-8-73 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-8-73 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 29,3 x 19,7 cm (11 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-96 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-96 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17,9 x 11,2 cm (7 x 4 3/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, prac...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 2-070 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 2-070 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 18,1 x 13,2 cm (7 1/8 x 5 1/4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-6-88 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-6-88 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17 x 10,3 cm (6 3/4 x 4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practic...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-11-31 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-11-31 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 18 x 13 cm (7 1/8 x 5 1/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, prac...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-167 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 10-1-167 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 17,7 x 17,8 cm (7 x 7 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 6-9-23 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 6-9-23 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 23 x 16,5 cm (9 x 6 1/2 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practic...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-3-74 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-3-74 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 29,7 x 22,5 cm (11 3/4 x 8 7/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-236 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-236 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 16,8 x 11,8 cm (6 5/8 x 4 5/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, practically reinventing photography from scratch, reconstitutes pictorialism along with it, and not as a distortion of the medium but as something like its essence. What counts for him is not only the image - just one moment in the photographic process - but also the chemical activity of the materials, which is never entirely stable or complete, and the delimitation of the results via cropping and framing. Marginal and exceptionally voyeuristic, in his methods Tichý could be described as an “art brut photographer” yet he is also marked by classical influences. Though his images are produced with poor-quality equipment and carelessly shot, they offer an idiosyncratic and almost hallucinatory vision of a fantastical, eroticised reality. With his endless return to the same subject and the volume and regularity of his production, Tichý’s work draws many parallels to certain practices of conceptual art during the same period. – Art, Black and White...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-5-64 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-5-64 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 18 x 11,7 cm (7 1/8 x 4 5/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pra...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-437 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 3-8-437 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 11,8 x 20,4 cm (4 5/8 x 8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, prac...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 4-089 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 4-089 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 20,6 x 12,3 cm (8 1/8 x 4 7/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pr...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-10-51 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No 7-10-51 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 16 x 8,4 cm (6 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.) Unique Print only Tichý, pra...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled, MT Inv. No. 11-1-170 – Miroslav Tichy, Woman, Czech, Photography
Located in Zurich, CH
Miroslav Tichý (*1926, Czech Republic) Untitled, MT Inv. No. 11-1-170 Unknown, ca. 1970-1990 Silver Gelatin Print Sheet 19,2 x 11,6 cm (7 1/2 x 4 5/8 in.) Unique Print only Tichý...
Category

Late 20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Invacuo Project #18. B&W Portrait inspired by the Gezi Park resistance movement
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Invacuo Project #18, 2016 by Koray Erkaya From the series of Invacuo Project Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre Duo 210 Image size: 16 in. H x 24 in. W (40 cm H x 24 cm W) Edition of 10 Work is also available framed at an additional cost. All sizes signed, titled, dated, and numbered on artist label verso All Prices are quoted as "initial price". Please note that prices and availability may change due to current sales. _____________________ JAZZ AND GAS Joyful humour characteristic of the pro-democracy environmentalist Gezi Park protests in June 2013. People of all ages, students, writers, artists, actors, musicians, LGBT activists, Anti-Capitalist Muslims, Marxists, Anarchists, Kurdish and Turkish nationalists were peacefully together in the heart of modern Istanbul: Taksim Square. Then the police attacked with tear gas and their usual equipment. But if they use uneven brutal force, then we use uneven intelligence and creativity: “We are fair: Their gas is fresh air.” Such sarcastic slogans multiplied echoing the positive, hopeful, unyielding and determined character of the our jazz like plural harmony. If Sultanahmet Square is the heart of Classical Istanbul with its Byzantine and Ottoman heritage, Taksim Square represents the modern city: the central statue representing the national liberation war and the formation of the Turkish Republic, Gezi Park, Ataturk Cultural Centre, big hotels, and the historic Istiklal (Independence) Street. Eyes shed tears not only because we laughed due to high quality satirical slogans but also because of the harmful gas and the deaths of several youngsters. Numerous citizens lost an eye or arm. Thanks to international media coverage, the inspiring Gezi Park resistance (or “June Movement”) in Turkey drew attention all over the world -while the pro-government media kept silent. Whether on purpose or not, tear gas –and its canisters at close range- took several lives. Don’t let anybody fool you: Tear gas may kill. And it did. Though “as a nation” we had been used to gas in previous demonstrations, one point was unique: The whole city was gassed. Babies, old people and citizens with asthma suffered in their homes. Before the police attack, maybe most of the young protesters were “merely” environmentalists without a major political orientation. Tear gas brutality transformed most of them into political activists. Since that June, our lungs, souls and future have been full of that gas. Tear gas has been used not only in Turkey but in many other countries as well –since the 1990s. We tend to think that “Every soul shall taste it,” –sounding like a statement from a holy book. The situation is unacceptable: A child on the way to get bread for breakfast may die –in fact be killed by the police using tear gas without proper concern and care. Tear gas is a chemical weapon. It’s vital to comprehend that. The marketing is well-phrased but misleading: “Made from fruit and vegetables, wholly organic.” But when it is used at close range, its metal canister becomes a bullet. Fifty years ago, in late 1960s, 90 countries signed a petition against the usage of tear gas. Our country signed the 1997 Convention on Chemical Weapons, which states that tear gas is considered to be a chemical weapon when it is used in closed places, at close range or in a crowd. Despite this, it has been used time and again in Brasil, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Gaza, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Panama, the Philippines, South Korea, UK, USA, and Vietnam. The Association of Turkish Medical Doctors and the Initiative Against Tear Gas have been working and reacting diligently on this issue. “But the label says it’s harmless,” say some. But the firms that produce gas bombs put labels according to the demands of governments. Are you Shocked? Global trade has priority over humanitarian concern. But why this introduction? Don’t we all know all these things? We certainly do, but the “agenda” changes so fast that our knowledge does not find time to unite with our action in order to change the ongoing chain of events. Enter arts. With the mission of contributing to collective memory, Artist Koray Erkaya creatively documents experience. In his new photographic art series, Erkaya revolts against individual and social de-sensitivisation. In order to address the memory and to increase awareness, he uses “gas” against everyone –without discrimination. He tests his models with gas in the specifically prepared labyrinth made of mirrors. But of course, the gas he uses is not one of the types of tear gas labeled OC, CS or CN. In any case, the violence the people suffer is not limited to the content of the gas. When he started his voyage to display the violence, loneliness, nakedness, helplessness, spiritual and physical isolation of women, children, gays, transsexuals -all the humiliated people under some form of gas, Erkaya began working with models from various nations in Istanbul. Now he is on his way to show that this issue is a problem for all who live on the same planet. When we see ourselves in the eyes of the models in the mirrors...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, C Print

Invacuo Project #19. B&W Portrait inspired by the Gezi Park resistance movement
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Invacuo Project #19, 2016 by Koray Erkaya From the series of Invacuo Project Hahnemühle Photo Matt Fibre Duo 210 Image size: 16 in. H x 24 in. W (40 cm H x 24 cm W) Edition of 10 Work is also available framed at an additional cost. All sizes signed, titled, dated, and numbered on artist label verso All Prices are quoted as "initial price". Please note that prices and availability may change due to current sales. _____________________ JAZZ AND GAS Joyful humour characteristic of the pro-democracy environmentalist Gezi Park protests in June 2013. People of all ages, students, writers, artists, actors, musicians, LGBT activists, Anti-Capitalist Muslims, Marxists, Anarchists, Kurdish and Turkish nationalists were peacefully together in the heart of modern Istanbul: Taksim Square. Then the police attacked with tear gas and their usual equipment. But if they use uneven brutal force, then we use uneven intelligence and creativity: “We are fair: Their gas is fresh air.” Such sarcastic slogans multiplied echoing the positive, hopeful, unyielding and determined character of the our jazz like plural harmony. If Sultanahmet Square is the heart of Classical Istanbul with its Byzantine and Ottoman heritage, Taksim Square represents the modern city: the central statue representing the national liberation war and the formation of the Turkish Republic, Gezi Park, Ataturk Cultural Centre, big hotels, and the historic Istiklal (Independence) Street. Eyes shed tears not only because we laughed due to high quality satirical slogans but also because of the harmful gas and the deaths of several youngsters. Numerous citizens lost an eye or arm. Thanks to international media coverage, the inspiring Gezi Park resistance (or “June Movement”) in Turkey drew attention all over the world -while the pro-government media kept silent. Whether on purpose or not, tear gas –and its canisters at close range- took several lives. Don’t let anybody fool you: Tear gas may kill. And it did. Though “as a nation” we had been used to gas in previous demonstrations, one point was unique: The whole city was gassed. Babies, old people and citizens with asthma suffered in their homes. Before the police attack, maybe most of the young protesters were “merely” environmentalists without a major political orientation. Tear gas brutality transformed most of them into political activists. Since that June, our lungs, souls and future have been full of that gas. Tear gas has been used not only in Turkey but in many other countries as well –since the 1990s. We tend to think that “Every soul shall taste it,” –sounding like a statement from a holy book. The situation is unacceptable: A child on the way to get bread for breakfast may die –in fact be killed by the police using tear gas without proper concern and care. Tear gas is a chemical weapon. It’s vital to comprehend that. The marketing is well-phrased but misleading: “Made from fruit and vegetables, wholly organic.” But when it is used at close range, its metal canister becomes a bullet. Fifty years ago, in late 1960s, 90 countries signed a petition against the usage of tear gas. Our country signed the 1997 Convention on Chemical Weapons, which states that tear gas is considered to be a chemical weapon when it is used in closed places, at close range or in a crowd. Despite this, it has been used time and again in Brasil, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Gaza, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Panama, the Philippines, South Korea, UK, USA, and Vietnam. The Association of Turkish Medical Doctors and the Initiative Against Tear Gas have been working and reacting diligently on this issue. “But the label says it’s harmless,” say some. But the firms that produce gas bombs put labels according to the demands of governments. Are you Shocked? Global trade has priority over humanitarian concern. But why this introduction? Don’t we all know all these things? We certainly do, but the “agenda” changes so fast that our knowledge does not find time to unite with our action in order to change the ongoing chain of events. Enter arts. With the mission of contributing to collective memory, Artist Koray Erkaya creatively documents experience. In his new photographic art series, Erkaya revolts against individual and social de-sensitivisation. In order to address the memory and to increase awareness, he uses “gas” against everyone –without discrimination. He tests his models with gas in the specifically prepared labyrinth made of mirrors. But of course, the gas he uses is not one of the types of tear gas labeled OC, CS or CN. In any case, the violence the people suffer is not limited to the content of the gas. When he started his voyage to display the violence, loneliness, nakedness, helplessness, spiritual and physical isolation of women, children, gays, transsexuals -all the humiliated people under some form of gas, Erkaya began working with models from various nations in Istanbul. Now he is on his way to show that this issue is a problem for all who live on the same planet. When we see ourselves in the eyes of the models in the mirrors...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment, C Print

Jackie Chavez
Located in Dallas, TX
Signed, titled, and dated. Gelatin silver print 20 x 16 in.
Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Christo's Wrapped Monument to Vittorio Emanuele
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 75 Numbered and signed by Christo. Frame included.
Category

20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Untitled Self-Portrait (Cherie Hiser), from the New Mexico Portfolio
By Cherie Hiser
Located in Dallas, TX
Edition of 125 Signed in ink on print margin. Photograph is from The New Mexico Portfolio published in 1976 by the Center of the Eye Photograp...
Category

20th Century Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Side Views - William Wegman (Colour Photography)
Located in London, GB
Side Views - William Wegman (Colour Photography) Signed and inscribed with title Unique black and white Polaroid print, printed 1998 24 x 20 inches The dogs, bewigged and bedecked w...
Category

1990s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Polaroid

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'Topaz' Black and White Nude Classical Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. Savannah Spirit Topaz 20” x 26” Silver gelatin print 1/1 "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage pinup...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Never Let a Snake Bite You Twice' Black and White Nude Classical Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage pinup...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Be the Woman You Needed When You Were Younger' Black+White Nude Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage pinup...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Topaz' Black and White Nude Classical Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. Savannah Spirit Topaz 11” x 14” Silver gelatin print 1/1 "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage pinup...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Lux' Black and White Nude Classical Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage pinup...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph Surrealist Fake Limb Prosthetic Factory Photo
Located in Surfside, FL
These are vintage prints from the 1980's. The last photo shows a gallery or museum label from an accompanying piece (there were three sequence shots in this series) but is not on thi...
Category

1980s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

The Swan, With Leda (Limited Edition of 25)
Located in New York, NY
This 2009 photograph by legend photographer, John Stoddart depicts “The Swan with Leda.” It was inspired from the mythology of the Greek story of Leda and the Swan, when the God Zeus...
Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Be the Woman You Needed When You Were Younger, solarized Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. #Contemporary black and white nude photography by Savannah Spirit Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph Surrealist Fake Limb Prosthetic Factory Photo
Located in Surfside, FL
These are vintage prints from the 1980's. The last photo shows of a label from an accompanying piece (there were three sequence shots in this series) but is not on this piece. They l...
Category

1980s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

'Be the Woman You Needed When You Were Younger, solarized' Silver Gelatin
Located in Los Angeles, CA
In this rich self portrait, Savannah Spirit takes the tradition of black and white female nude photography, and turns the gaze back on itself. In this series, the muse is the artist, and the gaze is her own. Spirit believes that an image of a woman's body should not be viewed through a purely sexual lens. Through her artwork and curation, Spirit takes on technology and social media censors who operate on the assumption that any unclothed body is pornography. Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag. "We are unique beauty, we are strong, we are equal, we are body-positive, we are elegant, we are powerful, we are vulnerable. We are our own muses." Style: This photograph combines a feminist eye and modern feminism with classic vintage pinup...
Category

2010s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

The Swan, With Leda (Limited Edition of 25) - 30x40 In Fine Art Print
Located in New York, NY
This 2009 photograph by legend photographer, John Stoddart depicts “The Swan with Leda.” It was inspired from the mythology of the Greek story of Leda and the Swan, when the God Zeus...
Category

Early 2000s Conceptual Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Conceptual black and white photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Conceptual black and white photography available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Savannah Spirit, Miroslav Tichy, Jennifer Greenburg, and Samuel Field. Frequently made by artists working with Archival Pigment Print, and Pigment Print and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Conceptual black and white photography, so small editions measuring 3.31 inches across are also available. Prices for black and white photography made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $278 and tops out at $46,412, while the average work sells for $3,000.

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