| | |  | Other | Home » » » Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff + Robert Mapplethorpe | | | | | | | Description: | | Along with 1970s icons like Patti Smith, curator Sam Wagstaff and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe made up a large part of New York's '70s and '80s art culture. James Crump's documentary explores their relationship and the larger art scene through interviews with Ralph Gibson, Richard Tuttle, Joan Juliet Buck, Dominick Dunne, and Eugenia Parry. | | | Features: | |
• BLACK, WHITE, & GRAY (DVD MOVIE)
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Sam Wagstaff, Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith | | Director:
| James Crump | | Format:
| Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| NEW VIDEO GROUP | | Run Time:
| 72 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| February 02, 2010 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 3 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 3 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Review of DVD Black White & GrayNov 28, 2011
By Maddie
I did not care for this DVD for the fact that it was more about Sam Wagstaff's life prior to his relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe rather than a documentary about their time together. To me it touched on their life minimally. Patti Smith added some stories but I already read her view on their life in her book. Disappointed, not what I thought it would be.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 The UnholyTrinity- Black White +GrayApr 22, 2011
By The Third
A small group of diversely occupied men who share an interest in film viewed this selection at one of their monthly meetings and everyone enjoyed it very much. The contrast between Wagstaff and Mapplethorpe could hardly be more distinct. The elitist privilege of Wagstaff and the outsider poverty of Mapplethorpe formed a bond that symbiotically grew, often using the friendship of Patti Smith as the Gray between them. The pursuit of photography as a fine art medium and of course the sexual attraction between the two men, energized the success of both, and briefly elevated the world of S&M homosexual practices to the level of ritual piety. These men, their relationship and their accomplishments stand as yet another chapter, in perhaps one of the most turbulent and progressively agressive decades in both the art and social cultures of our time. If your interests fall in either of these categories please don't miss this film.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Life in Black and WhiteJun 17, 2010
By Amaranth
"music fan"
"Black White + Gray" is a powerful documentary about curator Sam Wagstaff and his photographer/lover, Robert Mapplethorpe. Though Wagstaff was 25 years older, the two formed a close bond that transformed the art world. Wagstaff was an aristocratic Polish lady's son, growing up by Central Park. Mapplethorpe was blue collar, working class. Wagstaff, like activist Harvey Milk, served in the Navy--thus giving a whole new meaning to Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
"Black White + Gray" mainly provides insights from Patti Smith, the punk rock goddess who befriended both men Patti Smith Dream Of Life. They were two fascinating characters in her dream of life. Wagstaff paved the way to Mapplethorpe's success in the art world, introducing him to erotic photography Man to Man: A History of Gay Photography (Male Photography). Mapplethorpe was the Bad Boy in Leather who took a walk on the wild side, introducing Wagstaff to S&M. While the documentary primarily focuses on Wagstaff's emergence from the closet (and his eventual death from AIDS), little is made of his relationship with Mapplethorpe. Only Patti Smith elaborates on it, poeticizes it, unites the two in immortality.Mapplethorpe: Assault With a Deadly Camera Mapplethorpe's posthumous controversy in Ohio provides a footnote. Wagstaff was an agent provocateur with his championing of modern art as well. Both men reveled in controversy.
"Black White+Gray" is a must-see documentary of the art world.
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