Black White + Gray: a Portrait of Sam Wagstaff & Robert Mapplethorpe + Patti Smith
A FILM BY James Crump
A FILM BY James Crump
Potent...
-Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES
Draws out the unseen riches that exist within what may otherwise appear typical or commonplace.
-Rob Humanick, SLANT MAGAZINE
Synopsis
Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Sam Wagstaff’s transformation from innovative museum curator to Robert Mapplethorpe’s lover and patron is intensively probed in Black White + Gray. During the heady years of the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City art scene was abuzz with a new spirit, and Mapplethorpe would be at the center of it. Wagstaff pulled him from his suburban Queens existence, gave him a camera and brought him into this art world that seemed to be waiting for him, creating the man whose infamous images instilled emotions ranging from awe to anger. In turn, Mapplethorpe brought the formerly starched-shirt preppie to the world of drugs and gay S-and-M sex, well-documented in his still-startling photographs. Twenty five years separated the lovers, but their relationship was symbiotic to its core, and the two remained together forever. The film also explores the relationship both men had with musician/poet Patti Smith, whose 1975 debut album "Horses" catapulted her to fame.
Original Languages: English
Genre: Documentary, GLBT
Running Time: 77 min.
Year: 2007
Genre: Documentary, GLBT
Running Time: 77 min.
Year: 2007
CREDITS
DIRECTED BY
James Crump
PHOTOS
Black White + Gray: a Portrait of Sam Wagstaff & Robert Mapplethorpe + Patti Smith
