Martha Cooper, born in 1943 in Baltimore, is a legendary photographer whose commitment to graffiti has contributed immensely to the culture’s visibility around the world. Cooper was the first female photo journalist employed at the New York Post.

In the late 1970s, subway graffiti caught her attention. She subsequently met some writers and decided to document the fleeting artworks extensively. At this time, before the culture was assigned any classifications, Cooper recognized its importance and thus teamed up with like-minded photographer Henry Chalfant to create the groundbreaking book Subway Art. This “bible of graffiti” is a milestone of contemporary photography that captures the spirit of a movement. The original dummy of the book was shown at URBAN NATION as part of Cooper’s first international retrospective exhibition Martha Cooper: Taking Pictures (2020–2022). Her strong ties to the museum are also reflected by the in-house library she donated to URBAN NATION in 2021 in addition to her permanent loans of publications and archival materials.

Cooper’s work in this exhibition, Seen Pjay Kehl & Blade Location: South Bronx, shows a “double whole car” done by four of the most noted New York graffiti pioneers.

On loan courtesy of the Gewobag collection.