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 “bible”. 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 Cooper’s 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.

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 trains retain their impact, while Martha Cooper's narrative pictures tell the story. In the introductions, the authors recall how they gained entry to the New York graffiti community in the 1970s and 1980s and describe the techniques that they used to photograph it. Afterwords report how the lives of the original subway artists have unfolded, and chronicle the end of the subway graffiti scene in the late 1980s and its unexpected rebirth as a global art movement. This is an essential book for all fans of graffiti, stunning photography and 1980s-cool.

Graffitin har nått jordens mest avlägsna hörn och blivit historiens största konströrelse. Det viktigaste är att skapa en egen och originell tag, och varje graffitiskrivare börjar med det. Fotografierna i Tag Town berättar om graffitins ursprung i New York från det tidiga sextiotalet. Tags och graffitimålningar har samma ursprung, och genom att förstå det ena kan man förstå det andra. För dem som lär sig läsa tags öppnar sig världar av estetiskt uttryck och kommunikation. Tags är ett universellt språk - bokstävernas jazz. Tag Town innehåller också unika bilder på gatukonst av Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring och Kenny Scharf, konstnärer vars tag-inspirerade arbeten ligger till grund för dagens snabbt expand- erande gatukonströrelse. Texterna bygger på intervjuer med Blade, Part 1 och Snake 1, graffitipionjärer i New York. Martha Cooper är fotograf och en av världens främsta skildrare av urban kultur.