Spray Nation by Martha Cooper
About Spray Nation
Culled from the extensive archives of one of the most renowned graffiti photographers of all time comes this remarkable collection of previously unpublished images of New Yorkās graffiti scene in the 1980s.
If you were a graffiti writer in 1980s New York City, you wanted Martha Cooper to document your workāand she probably did.
Cooper has spent decades immortalizing art that is often overlooked, and usually illegal. Her first book, 1984ās Subway Art (a collaboration with Henry Chalfant), is affectionately referred to by graffiti artists as the ābibleā.
To create Spray Nation, Cooper and editor Roger Gastman pored through hundreds of thousands of 35mm Kodachrome slides, painstakingly selecting and digitizing them. The photos range from obscure tags to portraits, action shots, walls, and painted subway cars. They are accompanied by heartfelt essays celebrating Cooperās drive, spirit, and singular vision. The images capture a gritty New York era that is gone forever.
And although the original pieces (as well as many of their creators) have been lost, these powerful photos feel as immediate as a subway train thundering down the tracks.
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About Spray Nation
Culled from the extensive archives of one of the most renowned graffiti photographers of all time comes this remarkable collection of previously unpublished images of New Yorkās graffiti scene in the 1980s.
If you were a graffiti writer in 1980s New York City, you wanted Martha Cooper to document your workāand she probably did.
Cooper has spent decades immortalizing art that is often overlooked, and usually illegal. Her first book, 1984ās Subway Art (a collaboration with Henry Chalfant), is affectionately referred to by graffiti artists as the ābibleā.
To create Spray Nation, Cooper and editor Roger Gastman pored through hundreds of thousands of 35mm Kodachrome slides, painstakingly selecting and digitizing them. The photos range from obscure tags to portraits, action shots, walls, and painted subway cars. They are accompanied by heartfelt essays celebrating Cooperās drive, spirit, and singular vision. The images capture a gritty New York era that is gone forever.
And although the original pieces (as well as many of their creators) have been lost, these powerful photos feel as immediate as a subway train thundering down the tracks.
