Martha Cooper

If you were a graffiti writer in 1980s New York City, you wanted Martha Cooper to document your work—and she probably did. Cooper has spent decades immortalizing art that is often overlooked, and usually illegal. Her first book, 1984’s Subway Art (a collaboration with Henry Chalfant), is affectionately referred to by graffiti artists as the […]

In 1984, photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant captured the imagination of a generation with Subway Art, a groundbreaking book documenting the work of graffiti writers who illegally painted subway cars in New York City. The 2009 edition of the book is now available in a new, slightly reduced format. Henry Chalfant’s images of the […]

Tokyo Tattoo 1970 by renowned photographer Martha Cooper is a book about the traditional art of tattooing and a rare portrait of a master artist. It provides a unique glimpse into the world of traditional Japanese tattooing in Tokyo in 1970, and it’s a collection of photographs capturing the Japanese art of Irezumi (often associated […]