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.
Direction
Crump weaves three massive egos into one surprisingly tender portrait.
Editing
Archival footage cuts like a fever—Patti Smith's laugh haunts you.
Production
Rare access to Wagstaff's private collection and personal demons.
Director
James Crump
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Wagstaff's photography collection sold for $5 million in 1984—the sale that legitimized photography as serious art investment.
The 'Black White + Gray' title references both Mapplethorpe's aesthetic and the three-way dynamic: Smith (gray, between their black/white polarities).
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