Martha Cooper: Spray Nation

“Martha Cooper: Spray Nation” is out now from Prestel Publishing. This fabulous book runs to almost 300 pages overflowing with Martha’s photographs, for which she and editor Roger Gastman looked through hundreds of thousands of 35mm Kodachrome slides! The publisher notes: “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” is affectionately referred to by graffiti artists as the “bible.” In which case, “Spray Nation” is a new testament.