Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Spray Nation: 1980s NYC Graffiti Photos

Spray Nation: 1980s NYC Graffiti Photos

Cooper, Martha
Gastman, Roger

Hardcover

American Art - GeneralGeneral PhotographyGraffiti & Street Art

Publisher Price: $50.00

ISBN10: 3791388746
ISBN13: 9783791388748
Publisher: Prestel Pub
Published: Sep 6 2022
Pages: 288
Weight: 3.60
Height: 1.06 Width: 11.97 Depth: 7.77
Language: English
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archives of one of the most renowned graffiti photographers of all time comes this remarkable collection of previously unpublished images of New York's graffiti scene in the 1980s.

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.

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