B&W and Colour (color) - together in a show?

[rapyke]

<p>I am looking for a very quick 'straw poll'... is it OK to hang B&W and colour prints together (side by side, 2 of one sort followed by one of the other, etc) in a show?</p>

<p>Any opinions will be most appreciated.</p>

[vick_vickery]

<p>Why not? I've seen black and white and color prints displayed togeather many times.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>The question is do they make sense together or can they be separated to make sense for what they are.</p>

<p>Generally, I would say that a b/w image here and a color one there is sort of indicative of someone learning, not someone who knows what they are about. Certainly, if the space is big enough and you can segregate the work such that they make sense together (different bodies of work), there isn't a problem to be sure. It is just, IMO, that mixing the two is sort of saying that you don't have a clear vision, but I think maybe you knew that and thus your question.</p>

<p>This was one of 5 "criteria" for submission of portfolios to Aperture's annual review: "> What technical and presentation choices has the photographer made, and are they appropriate for the work? For example, is there a clear reason for using sepia-toned black and white versus a digitally enhanced palette?"</p>

<p>I think maybe you want to show both but know it isn't the best--unless you have separate bodies of work where one or the other makes sense.</p>

[maury_cohen]

<p>Yes; I've exhibited both together and I don't see an issue.</p>

[rapyke]

<p>Thanks Vick and Maury... I will likely do so as well this time.</p>

<p>John A - thanks very much indeed for your answer... it kind of helped me 'snap' my thinking into focus... I will be showing alternate views of one small city and I think the combination is necessary in this case. Time and critical judgement will tell me if I made the right choice for my photos and audience.</p>

[john_elder1]

<p>Very rarely have I seen a solo show that combined B+W images grouped together with Color photos in a good gallery. Of course you see this in Juried shows where there is more than one photographer. When B+W and color are shown in a solo show I think it would be better to segregate the two. Personally , I don't like to see the combination in a solo show.</p>

[blake_schwalbe]

<p>It's okay surely. <em>De gustibus non est disputandum</em> (sorry, I'm in a silly mood). Except of course, if you plan on putting color and b&w in the <em>same</em> photograph. As an aficionado of looking at photographs, I would be skeptical right away of a show where b&w and color prints are displayed as you describe. Conceptually. If I were a casual browser of galleries though, I wouldn't give it another thought.</p>

[Brad_]

What John E said...

[Norma Desmond]

<p>It's perfectly fine and can be done extremely effectively. </p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Showing them together is fine if they are good individually. If the selected examples of the two kinds go together, so much the better. I cannot agree that showing both kinds says that "you don't have a clear vision". Many photographers have had fine vision, and that has been apparent in colour and in monochrome. Both kinds are images. They are recorded in the same way but on different material. Vision precedes material and is not determined by it.</p>