By Laura Medina
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From what became photographing disadvantaged Bronx kids suffering from urban neglect to a worldwide art, social, cultural, and worldwide phenomenon, that's only getting stronger. We all have to point to an unassuming photojournalist who still can't believe what she started, Martha Cooper.
In homage to her worldwide influence, especially the perennial demographics of global tweens and teens who constantly try to emulate the original tween and teen graffiti artists expressing themselves in Seventies Bronx, that Martha Cooper shot then compiled into a legendary style bible, "Subway Art by Martha Cooper" (1984-11-05), https://www.amazon.com/Subway-Art-Martha-Cooper-1984-11-05/dp/B01N3QK9BM/ref=pd_lpo_14_t_2/140-9471870-6263668?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01N3QK9BM&pd_rd_r=7c5093d6-a6dc-4f3c-a71f-ab8e24693430&pd_rd_w=HIPSG&pd_rd_wg=HbDHQ&pf_rd_p=337be819-13af-4fb9-8b3e-a5291c097ebb&pf_r
When Martha first published then try to sell it, it was too way ahead of its time. Shrugging her shoulders in her documentary, "Martha Cooper, A Picture Story" https://www.marthathemovie.com/ literally poor Martha couldn't see the first hundred prints of her photojournalism/sociology book of subway art/graffiti art reflecting Seventies and early Eighties sociology among disadvantaged youths
She had no idea that her first photography book, Subway Art, would become a style bible for the emerging league of global graffiti artists that would morph into worldwide street art for thousands of street artist and muralist who, still today, uses "Subway Art" as a template and education for their own take on street art. Trains and subways still the preferred canvas.
Martha's "Subway Art" and the copied knock-off of it, was and still passed around as a scared torah and bible among tweens, teens, and adults spray-painting and magic marking all over buildings, walls, trains, subways, and anything, as proved by the OSGEMEOS (also known as Os Gemeos or Os Gêmeos, Portuguese for The Twins), identical twin street artists Otavio Pandolfo and Gustavo Pandolfo.
In the Martha Cooper documentary showing her influence, the OSGEMEOS, in their mom's kitchen with their patient mom, the Brazilian twins talk about how they got their hands on a photocopied version of Martha's "Subway Art" book and treat it as though it's the Bible; and they still do to this very day as very successful artists, street artists, and graffiti artists and commercial artists who, also, for thousands of dollars in high-end influential art galleries all over. They owe their success to the unassuming Martha Cooper.
Martha Cooper's influence is now currently so strong, that the original first hundred books from 1984, are now priced in the hundreds. Today's emerging kid street artists are still making photo-copies of photo-copies. Today's successful and established Gen-X and Millennial artists are able to buy the originals or the second printing then personally pay homage to Martha's art galleries' signings and promotional tour.
Right now, the much honored, beloved, and respected Martha Cooper is overwhelmed by today's art world. In the documentary, "Martha Cooper, A Picture Story," she still shoots among the more aggressive and younger Getty photographers yet gets pulled up onto stage by today hottest contemporary artists, as the mother of all street artists. She's not used to this fame and attention.
The kids, she first profiled way back in Seventies blighted Bronx, are now well-established artists being sold for hundreds of thousands in high-end international art galleries. They all owe their current careers and success to Martha shining the light on them, when they were juvenile delinquents.
Those first-generation street artists and Martha, herself, cannot believe that a collection of their graffiti art, used to get them arrested back the day, would be promoted and sold in MOCA by Jeffrey Dietch; and that their show would be a blockbuster! Unbelievable to them.
This electric art current still continues to course through these street art kids' veins through first, second, and now third-generation street artists who are today's Gen-Z. Guess what?! Martha, her in seventies...in her jacket and sneakers, is still climbing over fences with these kids, in the middle of the night, photographing and documenting the action. But this time, today's or tonight's street artists are happy and proud to invite "the Martha Cooper" along for the run.
This is where Martha is at her happiest and most comfortable, down with the kids in the middle of the night, where the real art happens.
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