Martha Cooper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martha Cooper is an American photojournalist born in the 1940s. She was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she picked up photography at the age of three.[1] She graduated from High School at the age of 16,[1] earned an art degree at age 19 from Grinnell College, taught English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, journeyed by motorcycle from Bangkok to London and received an ethnology diploma from Oxford.[1] She worked as a staff photographer for the New York Post during the 1970s.[1]
She is perhaps best known for documenting the New York graffiti scene of the 1970s and '80s. While working at the New York Post, the return home at the end of the day consisted of taking photos of children in the city.[1] One day she met a child named Edwin who had introduced her to graffiti.[1] Edwin explained to her that Graffiti is an art form and that each kid was actually writing his/her nickname. Edwin then proceeded to tell of the Graffiti King and asked if she would like to meet him.[1] This is when Martha met Dondi who was the first one who allowed her come with, while Dondi was tagging she would take photos of his art.[1] In the 1980s she put together a book of photos illustrating the Graffiti subculture called SUBWAY ART.[1] She has degrees in art and anthropology[2].
She was a photography intern at National Geographic Magazine in the 1960s, and worked as a staff photographer at the New York Post in the 1970s.
Her photographs have appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian and Natural History magazines as well as several dozen books and journals. She is the Director of Photography at City Lore, the New York Center for Urban Folk Culture. Cooper lives in Manhattan but is working on a photo project in Sowebo, a Southwest Baltimore neighborhood.
In the 1980's Martha worked briefly in Belize photographing the people and archaeological remains of the Mayan culture. Two sites that received publication in National Geographic were Nohmul & Cuello, both under the direction of Dr. Norman Hammond.
[edit] Books
- Subway Art, Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, Thames and Hudson, London, 1984, Henry Holt, New York, 1984.
- R.I.P.: New York Spraycan Memorials, Thames and Hudson, 1994
- Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979-1984, From Here to Fame, 2004 ISBN 3-937946-05-5
- Street Play, From Here to Fame, 2005
- We B*Girlz, text by Nika Kramer, Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Books, 2005
- New York State of Mind, Powerhouse, 2007
- Going Postal, Mark Batty Publishing, 2009
[edit] External links
- Cooper's website about B-Girlz
- Cooper's website about female photographers
- Cooper's website of recent NY city photos
- at149st profile
