Black – the colour of darkness, of evil, of mourning, the opposite of light, of colour itself – however, it is also the symbol of elegance, dignity and gravity, the colour of Spanish courtly costume and also of the Existentialists. If we look at the cultural history of the late 20th century, then we can observe the “emancipation” of black; for many, it has been liberated from its iconographic negative meanings and transformed into the colour par excellence of design, fashion, and interior design. Black has always had a major function in the field of photography: when light is projected onto photographic plates treated with silver halide, this light is first fixed as black in the projected image. Black plays an important role in the work of the artists presented in this volume. It is not the symbolic references as such that are of interest here; rather it is black in its conscious and deliberate application as a means of artistic creation.
