Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe

Oct 19 2007 Not Rated 1h 17m
Biography, Documentary, Romance

Crump directed the feature-length documentary film Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff + Robert Mapplethorpe, which premiered in North America at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and in Europe at Art Basel. It explores the influence curator Sam Wagstaff, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and musician/poet Patti Smith had on the 1970s art scene in New York City.

Official Trailer
Plot

A look at the life and contribution of Sam Wagstaff (1921-1987), curator, trend-setter, collector of photographs, and lover and guide to Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), told chronologically with archival footage, photographs, and contemporary interviews. Wagstaff is upper class, handsome, and gay, reinventing himself after World War II as a curator, with extraordinary success. By the 1970s, he's friends with Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith, his mother has left him a fortune, and he's collecting old photographs by the score. Many who comment discuss his largely forgotten contribution to art - the discovery of photography. The film sets the record straight.

Written by

James Crump

Directed by

James Crump

Cast

Pierre Apraxine, Dick Cavett, Dominick Dunne

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

Germany, United States of America

Production Companies

Arthouse Films

Awards

N/A

Trailers
Black, White & Gray Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
300
Average Rating
7 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA