Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe (2007)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

James Crump

Writer:

James Crump (writer)

Release Date:

19 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary on the relationship between curator Sam Wagstaff, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and musician/poet Patti Smith.

Plot Keywords:

Curator | Photograph | Photographer | Upper Class | 1970s

Cast

Pierre Apraxine	...	Himself
Dick Cavett	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dominick Dunne	...	Himself
Gordon Baldwin	...	Himself - Getty Museum
Raymond Foye	...	Himself
Jeffrey Fraenkel	...	Himself - Fraenkel Gallery
Philippe Garner	...	Himself
Ralph Gibson	...	Himself
Timothy Greenfield-Sanders	...	Himself - photographer
John Giorno
Tukey Koffend	...	Herself - childhood friend
Robert Mapplethorpe	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jean-Jacques Naudet	...	Himself
Eugenia Parry	...	Herself
Ingrid Sischy	...	Herself - Interview Magazine

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Certification:

Australia:M | Japan:R-15

Company:

Arthouse Films

Extrmely informative yet a lot of surface

I want to proceed cautiously, as I know some of the people interviewed in this film,. It's essentially an excellent documentary about collector Wagstaff. His protégé Robert Mapplethorpe is far better known. To the degree, that is, that either is known outside the worlds of art.

The filmmaker worked against built-in problems: Many people involved in the art scene of the time are dead. Some have died of natural causes and many, all too sadly, were lost to AIDS.

Part of what he comes up with as a result is fascinating. For example, who knew that Dick Cavett had interviewed Sam Wagstaff on television! John Richardson's presence lends the undertaking much panache. He is a magnificent art historian and writer. And Patti Smith: Patti, we love you! I was confused now and then by unattributed voice-overs. For example, a woman speaks disparagingly about the relationship between Wagstaff and Mapplethorpe. I see a name or two I don't recognize in the cast list and guess she is one of them. But since she is almost the lone negative voice, it would have been helpful to identify her when she spoke.

Overall, though, it's a fine work. One Fifth Avenue is still there. The museums mentioned are still here. A few of the people -- Richardson, Dominick Dunne, Smith, John Giorno -- are still here. But the scene is pretty much gone. This documentary helps people remember it and keep Mapplethorpe's work, and the history of collecting and of photography in the US, in perspective.