PHOTOGRAPHERS vs. PAINTERS

Photographers:  The Faustian Bargain at the origin of black & white photography’s fame

My uncle Vladimir used to say:  “..Real cow-boys don’t sleep twice in the same ranch..”

Ok.  Maybe.

But do you want to know the real story about the origin of the fame of black and white photography?

You bet!  Here it is.  It’s not about shades of grey, no, no, we talk here about serious, classic B&W.  So, what happened?

Let’s introduce the subject first.

Painters and photographers, as you certainly know, share a common love for light, composition, expression, tax exemption, chocolate (especially dark) and irresponsible but inspiring ancillary love affairs (*).

But painters have something photographers lack, namely a palette, which is their signature, their appropriation of the light spectrum.  That’s cool and sells rather well as a concept in New York art galleries since a couple of centuries.

Confronted with such a powerful marketing weapon, the gelatin kids were lagging behind.  Depression and frustration were looming.  Something had to be done.

At one point, the Syndicate decided to meet in the mythical room 448, a speakeasy-type semi-secret club where Bonnie Schwarz and Clyde Weiss had been gunned by the Feds.

The Syndicate’s President, John Noiret-Blanc, opened the session, reminding everybody about the vital necessity for the corporation to catch up in terms of reputation:  “..What could we do to prove to the world that we’re real artists too..?  That’s our challenge today and, let’s face it, tomorrow..”  

“..Painters stink!”  said one attendee “..color pigments, poor hygiene, smell of French fries left in a corner of their studio, cold tobacco..”  Collective laugh.

“..It’s a bit like us, except for the color pigments..!”  joked another one.

“..They may have palettes but we have tablets!  Ahaha!” added a third one.

The audience continued for a moment with cheap jokes, but the truth is that nobody had any serious answer to the President’s question.  Time was pressing.  Whatever sarcasms, paintings were still selling for millions, photographs for a few pennies only.  This couldn’t last.

John Noiret-Blanc summarised the situation quite well:  “..Look, we’re still in the dark..”

“..Push up the ISOs..!” laughed a guy.  But that was just adding noise.

“..You’d rather be in the black than in the red..!” commented a tall guy in the back of the room.

The audience stared at him.

“..True painters can’t paint in black and white..  They use it when they learn to draw, but then that’s it, they hate it..”  said the tall guy.

“..Do you mean we should feature this as our our specificity, our “essence ultime”..?” asked Noiret-Blanc (who had a French grandfather).

The tall guy stood up.

“..Color is a distraction..  If you really care about the quality of light, the beauty of skin tones, the emotional connection to your subject, if you want to highlight shapes and forms in the image and focus on the composition, in short if you want to be elegant and classy, then shoot in black and white..  And, of course, this will sell for high prices (and save you the money spent on colours)..!”

The audience was mesmerized.  Nobody had seriously thought about that before.

“..But it’s not so easy to make a good photo in black and white..!”  objected someone.

“..Only talented individuals will be able to do it properly..  But I can arrange that..!”

People in the room were open-mouth.

“..Who are you Mr..?” asked John Noiret-Blanc.

“..My name today is Robert Johnson, but that’s not important..  I have a deal for you all..!”

“..What kind of deal Mr Johnson..?”

“..Would you like to be well regarded..?  Should photography be acknowledged as an art, equal to painting, thanks to its famous black and white trademark..?”

“..Of course!!” was the unanimous answer.

“..Then, just give me your souls and I’ll give you the black!  I love black, I’m an expert at it dare I say..  You won’t be disappointed..”

He laughed, and his laugh was so special, the kind which gives you goosebumps.

“..and I forget:  give me also a bit of sympathy..!”

(*) Painters can also – not very often – cut their ears for obscure reasons, something photographers always hesitate to do, because they need to hear the click of their camera’s shutter