James Crump's insightful documentary explores the complex relationship between photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and his patron (and lover) Sam Wagstaff, whose wealth and society connections helped elevate Mapplethorpe into the higher circles of the fine arts world. Wagstaff was truly not a defined persona until Mapplethorpe entered his life in the early 1970s: in fact, the younger (by 25 years), working class, and unapologetically gay Mapplethorpe offered blue blood Wagstaff a liberation from both his previously closeted existence and the straight-laced conformity that shaped his early adult life (including a stint in the Navy during World War II, a successful career as a New York advertising agency executive, and a job as a museum curator). Black White + Gray is not shy about detailing the pair's intense and often reckless sex lives, a story that ended tragically, with both men dying from AIDS in the late 1980s, after which Mapplethorpe's reputation was posthumously reshaped by the controversial nature of his sexually explicit work. Narrated by Joan Juliet Buck, the film interweaves archival footage and stills with interviews (including comments by celebrities who knew the pair, most notably writer Dominick Dunne and singer Patti Smith) to create a memorable profile. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Black White + Gray
(2008) 76 min. DVD: $29.95. Arts Alliance America (avail. from most distributors). Volume 23, Issue 4
Black White + Gray
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