Martha Cooper

Martha Cooper is a photojournalist born in Baltimore in 1942. She lives and works in Manhattan. She specialized in art and architecture and was the first to document the early hours of the breakdance and graffiti culture in New York.

Starting in 1977, she workd for the New York Post for 3 years. It was during this time that she started to shoot photos of graffiti and breakdancersand the beginnings of hip-hop in the Bronx. Martha Cooper's books are bibles of hip-hop, graffiti, breakdance and the subversive cultures of the '70s, including Subway art, RIP Memorial wall art, We B*Girlz, Street Play, New York State of Mind, Tag Town, and Going Postal.

Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world and published in numerous magazines, from National Geographic to Vibe. Martha Cooper was also a director of photography for City Lore.