Martha: A Picture Story

Suburb documentary about photographer Martha Cooper, who saw the value and beauty in New York graffiti in the 1970’s, and became an icon of the street art movement worldwide.

In the 1970’s Cooper worked as a photographer for the New York Post, seeking images of creativity and play where others saw crime and poverty. As a result, she captured some of the first images of New York graffiti, at a time when the city had declared war on this new culture.

“In 1977, the Bronx was burning down. No one really wanted to write that graffiti was an interesting thing. But I don’t want to shoot something that’s done with permission. It’s an outlaw art. That’s what makes it thrilling.” – Martha Cooper.

“A visual document of visual documents – an interesting testament to the massive archive a photographer accrued in a lifetime of restless creative energy and observation.” ~ FILMINK.