Martha: A Picture Story (2019) - full transcript

[Spacey music]

[Kids shout, wind chimes tinkle]

[Relaxed guitar music]

I remember we was there one day

and the guy was like
in the jacket like this,

we are hanging out
and they say "look this!"

"What the fuck! What is this?"

“Yeah, it's a book.“

and then we come to our mother,

and we make her translate
the whole thing.

- We drive them crazy.
- Oh, yeah!



Every day, we say “please
can you... what say here?"

- And twice!
- "Come again, but what...“

like... very boring guys.

When we get this,
our life change.

We say “wow. I wanna do this.
I wanna paint this.“

and then we're thinking like,

"who is the person who take
all these photos?"

[Camera clicks together]

[Reporter] While Henry chalfant
covered the cars

directly from the platform,

photographer Martha Cooper
was capturing

the pieces within
their urban landscape.

I began to cover

various aspects of the graffiti
scene and it was fascinating.



[Man] What do you think about graffiti?

I don't like it,
I don't think anybody does.

So I was 14, I saw this book
and it was called subway art

and it was the first thing
I ever stole in my life.

Well, some of it's art,
some of it isn't.

[Reporter] What are your
feelings about graffiti?

It's as much her story,
as it is the story

of the individuals
that painted those trains.

[Spirited jazz music]

[Man] Unintentionally,
her work...

Generations of new artists.

Changed visual culture.

All over the world.

How does she have this
passion that continues?

She's with us, you know,
like, from the beginning.

[Man] Marty was there because
she was fascinated

with the creativity that's
part of people's daily lives.

This book literally
became my Bible.

They look at her
and they say, "ah!

“There's someone who knows
what I'm doing, and why."

Look! It's history! She got
it here. All of this.

And that's our history,
you know?

Our photographs have become
a permanent record of something

that 20 years from now
or 50 years from now

or even 100 years from now

is gonna be really
rare and unusual

[man] Well, it's something
which is gone,

all the pieces in the book
are gone.

[Subway car rattles]

[Doors scrape and ding]

[Martha] Oh, how about these?
This is a good collection!

How about this?
Look at this and this!

Like, these are all negatives.

These are... this is slides

and, like, information
relating to the slides.

These are all collections.

And I tend to think
in collections.

We should really
close this... and this.

Like - 'graffiti unsorted'
and what does that mean?

Well, that means these
are still in their slide boxes.

I'm not comfortable
with the idea

that I'm a legend or an icon.

One of these has got to work.

And people keep
using those words

and they make me feel
really uncomfortable.

It wasn't the direction
that I was after.

[Voice] Come on, smile!

Come on, smile!

In fact, what I wanted to
happen, really didn't happen.

And finally tonight,

we get a different kind of look

at how kids in the city
have fun.

Through the eyes
of a photographer

who loves to watch them.

[Driving music] [Bicycles clank]

[Car horn]

Can we come?

Yes?

J" doorman, let me in the door I

I spent all my money, you ain't
getting no more wages r

r sure, sir?
Sir, are you sure? 1“

I in short, I'm not a mop
you can drag 'cross the floor 1“

r inside, shell shock
she's standing with a guy I

1“ guys your mans stare him out j"

rreal polite,
"no, please, no, thanks" I

I "want a drink?"
"I'm alright" j"

r beer goggles on
pull the wool, now I'm blind j"

j' clear as day, I can see j"

I you make me melt
- sun, ice cream j"

j" you smooth like felt,
soft to the touch j"

I you wear repellant,
smell your scent from up above I

I angel getting carried out... I

I thought that... yes, and
everybody started running

and I thought we were
supposed to... and I..

I was just so confused
I didn't know,

I thought maybe there were cops

in the station or something
and I'm running.

Think of those poor people
that are standing there,

they don't know,
they think they're...

You know, there's some sort of
terrorist attack or something.

Like, ten people run in
and start spraying on the walls.

I concentrated on that somebody
was doing a big smiley face.

Talk about vandalism, this
was like vandalism times ten!

Obviously... it's like...

We're not talking little smiley,

we're talking smiley
that covered the entire wall.

I very badly wanted to be
a photographer.

I was willing to do
whatever it took,

and it turned out it took a lot.

Most collectors of photographica

don't collect
these little film wallets,

but I just love the graphics.

Look at this one.

Women have always
been photographers.

Look at the huge camera...
She really knows how to use it.

Kodak marketed cameras
to women from the 18005,

but for some reason it got
to be, sort of, a man's job.

So right then,
it was really hard

for a women to break into,
like, magazine photography.

It was the heyday of

black-and-white photojournalism.

I didn't have any clue

about how you would have
a career as a photographer.

I really just wanted to go take
pictures in foreign places.

Luckily for me,

president Kennedy
started the peace corps.

The corps will be a pool
of trained men and women

sent overseas by
the United States government,

to help foreign countries

meet their urgent needs
for skilled manpower.

[Fades] It's our hope to have
between 500...

[Relaxed guitar]

And I used to mail back
the film to my father.

[Sally levin]
She wrote me and said

she wanted to get a motorcycle

and she wanted to travel
from Thailand to england.

The Vietnam war was going on,

any of the guys had to go home
and register right away,

but as a girl, you know,
there wasn't any expectation.

56 years worth of travel.

Whoa! Now there's a passport!

I remember reading
in the newspaper

about a national geographic
internship.

[Man] National geographic!
A photographer's dream job.

The image is just as romantic
today as it ever was.

I immediately thought,
wow I want that!

I used my pictures from the
peace corps and I got accepted

and spent the summer as an
intern at national geographic

they had never had a girl...

A woman, a girl. Whatever.

So that was a real foot
in the door.

We went in different
directions as we got older,

because I did have a child,
she got married.

Maybe if we had put it together

we would have had a marriage
with a child but we didn't.

We each did half of what one's
supposed to do in life.

[Funky music]

My husband was
an anthropologist,

he did his field work in Japan.

My ultimate goal was to work
for national geographic.

I saw a guy completely tattooed.

I had never seen
this kind of tattooing.

To me it seemed like this would make

an excellent story for
an American magazine.

[Funky beat continues]

I was writing proposals
like crazy.

I thought this would
be my foot in the door.

And they didn't use the story.

[Typewriter keys clack,
bell chimes]

Sometimes you think
you have a great idea,

and it just doesn't fly.

[Plane whines]

We came back, he got a job

at the
university of Rhode Island.

To being a national geographic
photographer

was to work for a newspaper.

I managed to work for

the narragansett times
and the standard times,

these were weekly newspapers
in Rhode Island.

I was making a big effort

to be what I called
a 'real photographer'

and a real photographer to me

meant self-supporting.

Gloria steinem started
Ms. Magazine.

I read an article written
by a woman

who followed her
academic husband around.

And I recognised myself

and I realised I didn't really
want to be in Rhode Island.

I wanted to be in New York City
where all the publishing was.

I'm like, "this is too
small-town for me."

The narragansett times?
I wanted the New York times.

I want to be in New York.

[705funk]

I tried the times, I tried
the daily news... apn, upi.

She came in, you know,
like a light.

Tiny, tiny. I think she had
coveralls on, and scurrying.

You know she was
always scurrying.

And she sat down and I thought,

"oh my god,
if this woman can shoot,

"you know, wouldn't I love
to work with her?"

[Gasps] Oh, my god.
Did we ever look like that!

We did.

That's amazing.

They needed to beef up
their female staff

and I came along at a good time.

I was the first female
staff photographer

at the New York post.

[Welchman] The newsroom
was amazing.

Junky, dirty, celebrity, crime,
all that tawdry stuff.

[Martha] You showed up,
you took pictures

and you were onto
the next assignment.

You needed to get that shot.
The perp walk.

Yeah, I know,
they're all going like this!

Studio 54 the whole thing

was that you're supposed
to go there

and find the celebrities
night after night after night.

Bill Cunningham.
Excellent facial recognition.

Turns out that it's, like,
a genetic thing.

- That you don't have!
- Yes! That I don't have!

There were runners practicing
for the next Olympics.

My assignment was look
for cleavage.

That's all they wanted.

So, you know, these women
were running around the track.

[Laughter]

- Oh, my god!
- Yeah!

And all I'm looking for
is which one...

-Which ones tits were
hanging out?

Yes! You don't remember?

Oh, they had no,
I mean, no ethics!

Nothing. No ethics, no ethics.

We didn't know where we
were or what we were doing,

we just knew we had a job to do.

And I think both of us tried to
do that job the best we could.

[Music continues
over city noise]

[Martha] Susan always
wanted feature photos.

She called them weather shots.

Just filler pictures.

[Susan] That would be
a slow news day -

no accidents, no fires,
nobody's dead,

nothing you could scare up.

It's like a blank canvas.

But she was very good at it

because she loved people
so much.

[Martha] I just sort of fell
in love with New York.

There was always
something to photograph.

We were sent on assignments
in all five boroughs,

so I was free to be anywhere.

[Reporter] We set up a camera
on a roof

opposite a wounded car
on a New York City street

and watched what happened
over a period of 14 hours

[foreboding music]

The '705 were a very tough
time in New York.

[Reporter] As neighbours
casually look on,

a group of kids try to break
into a telephone company truck.

[Zeitan] The Bronx, especially,
was literally burning.

[Reporter] Highest crime,
greatest unemployment

and the world's record
for arson.

[Zeitan] Gerald Ford
would not give money

to prevent the city
from going bankrupt.

Landlords decided it was cheaper

to set their buildings on fire

than try to collect
the low rent.

[Man] We see the disregard

towards the urban centres
of this country

as a national disgrace.

You wouldn't let
your dog live here!

That's the city into which

Marty Cooper walked
with her camera.

[Martha] I used to drive
through alphabet city,

avenues a, b, c and d,
just looking for feature photos.

New York had a reputation
of being dangerous and bombed out

but it was actually a great
place to explore.

[Calm music]

[Water splashes] [Kids chatter]

[Welchman]
She'd bring that work in

and it was so lively,
everything moving.

Like that picture
of that little kid

who was bent over the...

You know just
that body language,

that little tiny body.

She loved that
innocence of childhood.

Kids were very creative.

Trying to build
something for themselves

out of the nothing they
found themselves surrounded by.

[Man] It was that poverty
that gave

this city a soul
and a character.

Even now in my head
and in my skin,

I think about those pictures and
I know how powerful they are

and how they are my story,

and the story
of many young people,

and of this city,
of what this city endured.

[Martha] I saw this boy with
an airplane that he had made,

and it was in pieces
and connected by a single nail,

and he was throwing it
on the ground

and the airplane
would fall apart

and he'd pick it up and put it
back together with this nail

and I'm like "yeah! That's it!"

They could do all kinds
of creative things

with minimal materials,

and that's really what
interested me the most,

that they didn't need
complicated playgrounds

or expensive toys
to enjoy themselves.

Kids were playing hopscotch,
play stickball, stoop ball,

ringolevio, hot peas and butter,

all these games that we
used to play. Skilzies.

[Man] Making go karts,
painting their tags on the wall

[Martha] The artefact of
the toy caught my eye

as much as what the kids
were doing with it.

This was my brother's camera,

when he was, like,
three or something,

and he was very clever with it.

And... it has a slate
that you could draw,

and he actually used it...

So he would pretend
to take a picture [dings]

And maybe he would pre-draw
something on the slate,

and then he would
pull out the slate

and it would have
a little drawing on it.

This is the eraser for
the slate, super creative.

[Man] That moment in time

gave birth to a tremendous
number of things

which Marty Cooper's camera
and her genius captured.

[Martha] It's not something you
could do in a week or a month,

but you could do in a year if
you have your camera every day,

and the kids got to know me.

Pigeons? You know,

like who thinks about
pigeons in New York?

Nobody! But Coop did!

You know, climb, climb, climb,
climb, way up on the roof

and learn about how it was done
and who kept pigeons and why.

She would get to
the heart of something.

[Martha] One of those
boys showed me

his little notebook
with graffiti drawings

and explained that
he was practicing

to paint his name on a wall.

And that was the first time that
I understood what graffiti was.

And when I expressed interest

he said "well, I can introduce
you to a king."

[Foreboding music]

[Welchman] We drove up there,
went down into this basement.

[Door clicks open]

[Footsteps]

And then these kids.

I didn't know what
those kids were.

The had the talent
that they had.

[Martha] The king turned
out to be dondi,

who was considered to be

one of the greatest of
all the graffiti kings.

He recognised my name
from a photo

of a wall that
he had painted his tag on.

He was, I can tell you,
very articulate.

He described
these big pieces to me.

[Welchman] Amazing
beautiful artwork,

tiny drawings of these trains.

Oh, they were beautiful,
these books.

I was just astounded,

first of all, I didn't know
that they even drew

before they went to the yards.

And then the thought
of her going

into the yards at night
with those guys.

[Calm music] [Spray cans hiss]

[Martha] I spent about
eight hours one night,

watching him do a piece.

A top-to-bottom whole car.

[Spray cans hiss]

It was fascinating.

[Music builds]

So I started going up to the Bronx

looking for locations
where I could see the trains.

I'd never seen any of these,
I'd never noticed any of these.

I had never really looked
at the trains.

[Camera snap]
[Music fades into trains]

I got obsessed with graffiti.

[Exciting dance music]

I hadn't understood at first

that kids were writing
their names.

It wasn't like
political graffiti

that was anti something
or pro something,

it was just a name.

Then I began to recognise names,

dez or daze or doze

and it becomes a game
and I got into the game.

Once I good picture
of an interesting train,

then I didn't want
the same background.

Did I wonder why I was doing it?

No, I did not wonder why
I was doing it,

I was just like,
"where's the next train?"

[Reporter]
Picture New York subways,

most people see grime and
graffiti, letters and symbols

and colours, covering the walls,
and assaulting the senses.

We called it writing, we didn't
really called it graffiti.

That was a term
that was really used

by like the mainstream media

to describe 'vandalism'.

[Doze] We started writing our
names and our street number.

It was kind of like
this fraternal order

where we communicated
through, like, signs.

It wasn't just about
writing a name,

but it was like who was
writing the name the best style

and how can we learn from
them, where are they?

[Doze] And they started tagging
from the parks

into the subway stations,
onto the trains.

Many of us were also running
away from problems at home.

[Calm instrumental]

[Skeme] Extracurricular
activities

was being budgeted out.

And hell, they didn't
give me nowhere else

to paint, so I got to
make a place.

[Doze] And I had to
dodge a lot of gangs.

I decided like, "nah, I'm not
rolling with these cats.“

so for me it was
more fun touring around

with the rats
in the tunnels and...

[Camera snaps]

And... outdo each other
with colour and style.

I started writing around '74,
'75, started tagging.

I started when I was 15.

And I say that because
there's people

that was writing
when they was 12.

I was ten years old.

[Doze] We had a subculture,

we had a way of communicating
through these train lines.

[Train rattles]

So, here we are. At esplanade.

- Wow.
- Ok. Well, how do we get in?

We're gonna have to,
I guess, pay our fare

unless you want to jump the
turnstile for old time's sake.

You know you could
have seen like a blade

whole car there back in the day.

So we just, jump down
and walk down?

- Yeah, that's what we did.
- We could. Yeah. Ok. Let's see.

I mean, I'm game for whatever.

So if you film down there
and you see,

like, in between the tracks,
these 'Bridges' as we call them.

And you have like a much
higher vantage point

to paint the train
on the top half.

This was a beautiful spot,

you could really wreck,
like, you know,

with both sides, like,

a couple of hundred train
sides in one night.

[Spray can hisses]

Cool.

We didn't know anyone outside
who was taking photographs

until we met Henry and Marty.

[Reporter] Henry chalfant's

telephone answering
machine messages

are far from the expected.

[Click]

[Man on recording]
Yo, Henry, this is last,

I busted out a rooftop
on the 6 line.

I had heard about him
from other graffiti writers

and I wanted to meet this person

who was also
photographing trains.

[Reporter] The graffiti writer
leaves Henry clues

about a fresh masterpiece

spray-painted
across a subway car.

Henry goes after the shot.

[Man] There was definitely
a competitive aspect to it,

she was not calling me up
every day

and saying "Henry there's
something

I think you need to get,"

because she was wanting it for
herself, and I was the same way.

The way I did it was a series,

turns out very good for
looking at the art.

He was very interested
in the art,

and I was more interested
in the culture.

When Marty and Henry
started documenting us,

we got to look at
ourselves very differently.

As subjects of interest.

[Man] For us it was like,
"wow, we're surprised

"that this white lady and this
white dude are interested."

We kind of let them in because

they were truly
interested in our lives.

We gotta be clear now,
people had cameras.

My instamatic. Little 110.

[Skeme] But when we found out

that there were other people

taking good, high-quality shots,
you know it was nice to know.

-[Woman] Where you
do write mostly?

-Mostly?

In the lay ups, where they keep
the trains on the weekend.

-[Woman] And how do you get
in to, uh, do that?

With a key. Sometimes
the doors are open.

Just go inside a whole bunch
of us, all the writers,

we just, you know,
start marking up all over,

inside, outside, every place.

[Doze] They were there for some
serious moments, you know.

Like that one shot
with dondi, my god.

[Laughs]

I like still cry
when I think about that.

That's the most beautiful shot

of a boy in his fuckin' yard,
you know?

[Spray cans hiss and rattle]

[Martha] This was
gonna be my ticket

to good assignments
with magazines.

"September 28th, 1980. Sunday.

"Have just been
put through the ringer

by the New York times magazine

"in an on-again, off-again
series of promises

to publish my graffiti photos.

"This had me as high as a kite

imagining my first
major colour spread,

"something I desperately
need for a portfolio,

"and then down in
the depths and in tears

"when I realised I couldn't let
them turn gorgeous colour,

“necessary to the story,

into undistinguished
black and white."

[Laughs]

This is just ridiculous!

Most people thought that
graffiti was pure vandalism

and not worth my time.

But I believed in it.

Young people, that were
so into their art

that they would risk
their lives to do it.

I decided to leave the post

because I wanted
to pursue graffiti.

She's like "I got to,
I gotta do that.

“I don't care what you think!
I gotta do it!"

There's the famous
dondi picture.

[Martha] Henry and I both wanted
to have a book published,

we decided to combine forces
and do it together.

[Henry] We worked all spring
and summer on that book.

[Martha] And, one after another

we went to these publishers,
and... no, no, no, no, no.

In New York?
Forget about it, we tried.

"Don't even want to discuss."

[Somber piano music]

Get caught splashing your

technicolour trash
in our subways

and I'll send you
to rikers island

until your spray cans dry up!

[Martha] "Total waste of time,
energy and money.

"All you're doing
is encouraging this."

[Man] Because the trains
are so visible,

it was an easy-to-latch-onto
symbol of urban blight.

[Reporter] The acid solution
is sprayed on subway cars

in this exotic urban car wash.

Razor-lined barricades of steel

have sprung up
around the train yards.

I hate graffiti.

Newspapers and the mayor

believed that
by crushing graffiti

they were doing something
to lessen crime.

Third time?
Couple of days in jail.

[Martha] There wasn't really a
ready audience for the book.

At least not in the United States.

[Jet whines]

We took it to Germany,
to the Frankfurt book fair.

In Europe, I guess people
weren't as tired of graffiti.

[Henry] The first booth
we got to,

they immediately said, yes,
they liked it.

The rest is history.

[Inspiring orchestral music]

3000 copies.

I think we felt that was small

but it was ok because
we had a book.

It was a long, hard road
to get that book published,

and I was very happy
to have something

in my hands that
I could show people.

Now we're gonna
have some major stories

in magazines
with these pictures.

I had gotten the museum shop

interested
in doing Christmas cards.

The chairman of
the board of directors

said, "people like that need to
be lined up at dawn and shot."

That was the end of that idea.

[Martha] Just they hated
graffiti so much,

they couldn't see through

to the fact that it might
be worthy of study.

They spend the day
scrubbing a d-train...

Kids stole it
and because of that,

bookstores locked it up
or put it in a glass case

or didn't want to carry it

because it just
kept disappearing

but people weren't buying it.

Subway art tanked.
It did not do well at all.

[Typewriter clacks]

Then I'm like,
"I gotta move on."

That was really responsible

for my figuring
"I cannot do this anymore."

[Man] You gonna think twice
before you do it again?

Sure enough I'm-a think
twice before I do it again.

That was it. "I'm out."

[Somber piano] [Train squeals]

[Man] After 1989, the subway,
the mta made a policy

that if a train gets hit,
they'll pull it out of service

so that no writer will
ever have the motivation

of seeing their name run.

[Train rattles]

I would have never imagined that
I would have stopped writing,

like, at the time I thought
I was gonna write forever,

I thought the pieces was gonna
run forever, you know.

[Train rattles]

Very clean.

- Yep.
- See, not one little tag.

You know, if you look
at this train now

you would never suspect

that a graffiti culture
had ever existed.

No. Super clean.

You have to realise when
something has run its course

and be satisfied with what
you did, and I'm there.

So I'd just rather tell the
stories of when it was fun

than try to recreate something
now that's gone forever.

[Somber music]

There, there,

I mean every time I come
down there's less and less.

But that you
can definitely line up, here.

See this little squiggle right there?

Wildstyle! Wildstyle!

Right here.

Who could possibly have imagined?

I want them
to put a plaque here.

This was the wildstyle wall.

[Faded basketball court noises]

Years of effort, I quit
the job at the post,

I had really gambled so
it was... yeah, it was stressful.

Not having any pay-off
to speak of.

[Reel clatters]

There was, I think maybe a year

when I just moved
into my studio.

I just put a mat on the floor.

I definitely never wanted
to depend on my husband

to support me, and I didn't.

There was some extremely
strong women in my family,

and I was raised to be...
Like them.

[Typewriter clacks]

You know I love New York.

But it's definitely not
a city for everybody,

and it wasn't a city
for my ex-husband.

[Welchman] You know,
the path Coop followed

was not an easy path.

Marriage didn't work out,
she never wanted children.

You know, this is against
most of society's rules.

Woman, children, wife, mother,

grandmother,
you know right down there.

And she was like
"none of that for me!"

[Keyboard clacks]

I don't really remember

crying myself to sleep
at night or anything.

And in fact I like being alone.

It's very comfortable
being alone.

I'm not a depressed
kind of person.

My friends sustain me.

-Would you like
to see my pokédex?

-Would I?

[Laughter]

[Laughter]

We went into
the Paris catacombs,

and we went down
around midnight,

through a manhole,
went through a manhole.

We didn't come out
until 5:00 in the morning!

Here, we go rappelling
down this rock face.

And here we are
enjoying ourselves

and here we are also
enjoying ourselves.

[Laughter]

- Who was that guy?
- Um... Cesar.

Cesar. Ok, so that was cozumel.

[Laughter]

You know you get old
but you can imagine

yourself 50 years younger!

You know, it doesn't hurt to...
Ok, it doesn't hurt to remember.

These filing cabinets contain
a lot of Marty's pictures.

A folder on bocce.

A folder on the guardian angels,
the hindu temple in queens.

A Haitian dollmaker.

Interiors of wasps -

white anglo-Saxon
protestant living rooms.

An erotic baker.

[Laughter]

Who made breads in
pornographic shapes.

City lore has been
documenting the city

with Marty since
we started in 1986.

[Martha] I really connected
with these people

and they needed photographers.

So it was perfect.

Here's the photograph of
the breakdancer on cardboard.

[Driving drumbeat]

And Marty just made
our work sing.

She was very drawn
to folklorists

because they were
trying to study

these local traditions
and these artforms

that nobody else
was interested in.

We're doing a project
on casitas.

Little puerto rican-style houses
built on vacant lots

and used as social clubs.

Somebody writing a history
of New York

is not going to cover those.

But they're very much part of
the lived experience

of being puerto rican
in the city

or being latino in the city.

From a lot of different
vantage points,

she's capturing this

so you can see
this incredible landscape.

And then you see this little
casita and garden patch.

She's photographing
the corners of life,

which are often forgotten about.

Having that record of how
people lived is important.

That's the only way we have
of transcending time.

And the only thing
they will have to go back to

is the record that Marty left.

Here back up, back up...
Back up...

Oh it's says 'original'.

Interesting, I was looking
all over for that.

Many of the things
that she's done,

nobody paid her
to take photographs,

she's just out there,
she's just doing it,

she's doing it all the time.

[Thud]

You know, I don't have a family.

So I can do absolutely
everything I want, for me.

I have all...
Every hour of every day,

I can devote to my own work.

Might be that one.

Honestly, I can't remember.

[Storage locker clatters]

There's a big stack of contact
sheets in here. Look at this.

Slides, graffiti.
Miscellaneous walls.

That would be graffiti.

I mean when I look at them,

it kind of makes me
a little depressed.

What am I doing with them?
Nothing.

You know, they're sitting
in my vast archives.

But you know before
we put it in there,

can we just have a peek inside
and see if there's something,

because the reason
I started this...

But to me,
organising the archive

feels like going backwards.

I want to go forwards.

It seems like
I have the skills necessary

to do most assignment work,

but not those necessary

for convincing editors
to give me the job.

There were times when,

oh, I just wanted
assignments to go to her,

but she's you know,
she's fit for a certain thing.

[Reporter] Back in Washington

at national geographic
headquarters,

illustrations editor
Susan welchman

is not thrilled with
the pictures she's getting.

They hired me as photo editor.
I went to Washington.

They offered me the job,
I took it.

[Reporter] At any one time

they've got about
170 stories underway

in various stages
of development.

Then a story came up on,

you know something that
was suited to her

so she was assigned to that.

Susan gave me a real assignment.

[Camera clicks] [Chill music]

The story was pollen.

Something I wasn't
interested in then,

and I'm not interested in now.

I read that in Japan
there was a place

where they had to hand-pollenate

fruit trees because
the bees had died out.

Geographic would send you
wherever

it took to get that picture.

[Welchman] There was no budget
on time or money,

a lot of photographers
cannot handle that.

[Typewriter clacks]

Susan was trying to help me,

you know we'd be
editing this thing

and she's telling me

to try this and try that
and try something else.

I really couldn't come up
with those fabulous pictures.

[Typewriter clacks]

She thought she wanted it

but it was because it was
unattainable, I'd say.

They always said,

“we make pictures
we don't take pictures, “

and I like taking pictures.

Wasn't a good fit for her.

I just like seeing something
and shooting it.

And that is not how
geographic works.

Ever at all.

When people say,

"which photographers
influence you?"

I always say 'snapshots'.

I like the naiveness,

people are just trying
to capture the moment

without thinking
about unusual angles

or different lenses

or, um, I would say the presence

of the photographer is minimal,

it's all about subject matter.

And that's what I like.

When I looked at my
old street play pictures

I felt that those were some
of the best pictures

I had ever taken.

I missed doing that kind
of photography

and I thought,

"I just want to go
and take pictures

and see what I can find."

[Contented guitar]

I used money that I inherited
from my parents

to do a project that I wouldn't
otherwise be able to do.

There are those smoke stacks.
I'm holding my little camera.

My first camera.

My father and my uncle had
a camera store in Baltimore.

My mother taught journalism.

It was a tribute to them.

I kinda wish they were alive,

I think they would
have enjoyed seeing

the neighbourhood
that I documented.

This was a dragon,

and the idea was that
when the mailman came

and put mail in the box
and raised the flag,

the head of the dragon was here,

and it revealed
a little portrait of the house.

Baltimore, my home town,
seemed like the perfect place

to do a street
photography project.

And Sally drove me around
looking for neighbourhoods.

I wanted to be part
of the neighbourhood.

So we found a house
that I could afford.

[Man] Why in the hell would
you live in this community?

Most people would not move here,

because of the violence,
because of the drugs.

So look, this is fresh because
it says 'happy valentines day',

it's not left over
from last year.

And there's a
big rip taco up there

which wasn't there before.

Right behind the house over
here a few months ago,

that was somebody's
heroin stash.

These are from Baltimore,

many of them
were in my backyard.

This one still has some
interesting... something in it.

There are these kids standing
on the street corner,

and they're calling out
about the caps, the green caps

or the blue caps or whatever,

I actually don't know
the difference.

Isn't that the cutest little jar
you've ever seen?

I had a feeling
this neighbourhood

was going to gentrify,

and I thought I would
like to see

if I can document that process.

I wanted to see
whether there was

some way I could see a change

in the neighbourhood.

Are people going to
be forced to move?

And if so, what happens?

You know, I had no idea exactly

how I was going
to document that,

but that was part of the idea.

I mean, there's stuff
bad around here

going on right now,

but it's not as bad as it was.

[Distant diren]

How fast it went down,

versus how fast it's going
back up, it's like...

[Chill music]

This is a neighbourhood
where you have

a lot of disenfranchised people.

Even to take
somebody's photograph,

and them to be ok
with it is a big step.

Honestly, please don't film now,

put it down,
until we talk to somebody.

Hi! How you doing?

We're just taking
some pictures...

Remember when I used
to take a lot of pictures?

Yeah, so is it ok for him
to take some? No problem? Ok.

That's cocky!
She still lives there.

Is she still in the house now?

Hi! Remember me?

- Been a long time!
- A long time, I know.

What she did was
to make small copies,

you know, 4x6 prints...

- I took some of them.
- That one!

Yeah, this one!

-This one.

And she would have
a little notebook

and she'd write down
their address...

You've got a lot!

And bring them back.

Like a photo gallery!

If she came back two weeks later

or a month later,
either knock on the door

or stick them
in the little mailbox

or slide them under the door.

- What's her name?
- Giniya.

- Didn't we call her something?
- Lady.

- Lady!
- Lady. Yeah, lady.

I think it's kind
of a cheap shot

to go around taking pictures
of the boarded-up buildings

and the trash on the street,
and I never focused on that.

- Great, perfect.
- That's awesome.

Excuse me, when it gets, like,
dark-dark, for night-time,

we are going to
set off big fireworks.

- Right here?
- Up there!

Up there? There's going to
be some big fireworks?

Yeah, that shoots up in the sky!

We'll come back!
We'll come back.

- Yay! Thank you!
- Thank you!

I'm not looking for things
that are... beautiful

but I'm just looking
for people that

are making the best
of what they have.

- I like your chairs here.
- Thank you

one for each of you.

- I'm doing the splits!
- Ok! You ready!

One two three, yes and...!

People would start
to recognise her

and call her the camera lady.

- The camera lady!
- Yeah.

-The camera lady's here!

-You're here every year
taking pictures!

Yeah, yeah. I've been here
a lot taking pictures.

- I remember you.
- Yep.

[Woman] And they accepted her.

I've been good!

Look at this! Who's in there?
Who's in that picture?

- Tata!
- Tata? Ok!

[Relaxed guiar]

Did the horses come back?

Did the horses come back
to the stable?

- Yeah.
- Yeah? Can we go in?

[Man] Go in there if you want.

[Man] To be able to see
something that

is beautiful amongst brokenness

I think takes a very keen eye.

[They exclaim]

[Men chant]

Always my pictures are people
rising above their environment.

In one way or another.

I hope you had a good time,

I hope we showed you
a good time!

- Yeah, we're having a good time.
- That's great.

The Baltimore
neighbourhood sowebo -

south west Baltimore -

was named after soweto.

It's no use to take a lot of
pictures about something

if you aren't going to put them
somewhere where other people

are going to be able
to see them.

-The strongest would
be this one.

-Well, what about that one?

That one's just not
a great picture.

- Well, ok.
- It's just not.

You know what? There's
part of me that still feels like

I have not been accepted

into the photographic
community in New York.

In a way she's undiscovered
in our world,

you know in our world
of the photo art gallery.

So, I gotta tell you,

we are gonna be avoiding
cute children, to some extent.

-I mean, there will be
a few of them.

Alright.

We're also going to be avoiding,

believe it or not,
smiling people.

-Although there will
be exceptions.

This probably would be
one of them.

- And why?
- Yeah, why?

Because...

Somebody else did
a piece on smiling people?

People don't take
those pictures as seriously,

and they don't react
to them the same way.

They just...

It's that simple.

I mean, when you see
a smiling face

you're in a different realm,
you're not in the art realm.

If you look across
the history of art you are not

going to see that many smiles

compared to much
more serious faces.

- It's true.
- You're just not.

If I have a picture
with a smiling child

I really want in,

I will make a case for it.

You should make a case
for it, absolutely.

So you know, you can see the
theme evolving or starting.

People taking over a ruin
and making it into...

- An appropriation of space...
- An appropriation of space.

Is exactly what
graffiti is, so...

Exactly, so...

It's really about how people

are making New York City
their own.

Right, right.

It's New York,

people are more interested
in it than other places,

because New York is sort
of the capital of the world.

At least that's what
new yorkers think.

[Laughter]

A lot of people do!

Marty has her own unique
perspective on things,

and it wasn't always
easy for her

to get the attention
she deserved.

Her acclaim was slow in coming.

[Phone rings]

Akim walta from Germany

contacted me and he wanted
to look at my hip hop pictures.

There was no clear book idea,

I just wanted to present
the New York hip hop culture.

She said "ok, here's my archive.
Have a look."

[Clicking]

Wow. The volume of material.
You could not imagine.

Maybe a little bit too much.

[Chuckles]

I wouldn't have been there
if it hadn't been for the post.

They sent me to upper Manhattan

to shoot what was
supposed to be riot.

They confiscated
spray cans and markers,

and a knife and a gun

and when I asked the cops
what they had been doing,

they said well they had been...

[Hip hop music]

I called into the post
and I said,

"send a reporter!
This is amazing!

"They were dancing! They
were spinning on their heads!"

There was no riot, so no
article. They didn't like it.

I was fascinated by the idea
that boys were dancing.

[Man] She was there. Like a
normal fixture to our lives.

A lot of people would come in,
and, you know,

like, "let me take some pictures

of the kids dancing,"
and they're out

but she was there.

[Funky hip hop beat]

[Martha] It was not breaking,
it was called 'rocking'.

It became incorporated
into this bundle

of activities that became
known as hip hop.

Music, dance and art.

Sao bento was a subway station,

that all the b-boys
and graffiti writers,

rappers, DJs,
hang out at that time.

I remember a guy come there says

"you guys still do these things?

"Because in us,
this stop, it's finished,

there are no b-boys anymore."

The '805 in Germany were
like break-dancers everywhere.

The b-boy scene and graffiti
scene was still growing.

The culture was kept
and developed.

Same situation in France, Tokyo,
in other parts of the world.

[Music continues]

It gave young people a voice

and a method to evolve
their skills.

To put up your tag,
even if it's ugly,

with effort or braveness,
you can become a hero.

That book turned
into the hip hop files.

[Record scratch]

That came out in 2004,
it was published in Germany.

He took me on a book tour.
Crazy, crazy book tour.

These pictures sat in
my files for 20 years

so to find out they are not
only interesting to me

but interesting to
people in Germany

and elsewhere
is thrilling actually.

I knew it because
I travelled the world

and I knew
all the graffiti writers

were influenced by subway art.

[Funky music continues]

Everybody seemed to know
who I was.

This is Martha Cooper!

[Cheering]

Everybody, come on! Martha! Cooper!

[Cheering, whistling]

I think that might
have been the first time

I heard that people referred
to subway art as their Bible.

Well, I'll tell you an incident
that blew my mind,

I am so sorry
I didn't take a picture.

We went to Brazil,
and we were going to a show

that the osgemeos twins had done

where they had done
the whole floor,

they had done the walls,
the ceilings,

and there was some band
that was gonna play.

And we were standing in line,

and these young people

that were interested
in graffiti came along

and somebody said,
"this is Martha Cooper."

And the kid got down
flat on the ground

and bowed before her,

totally prostrate, to his idol!

To his idol.
Martha was his idol.

They were, "thank you so much,
you changed my life,"

that was the first time I really
understood the effect.

Uh-huh!

All our friends from Europe,

they say "yeah, ok, yeah,
of course, subway art."

They influence with this book,
the whole world.

For her it's like,
already, like far away.

Graffiti unsorted,
more graffiti unsorted.

I don't think we would be
here doing this even now

if it wasn't for some
of the publications

that came out of
the photos they took.

It took it from a national
to a global phenomena.

When you talk to people about

how they got into graffiti
before the Internet,

they all say,
"through subway art."

-Everybody has a copy
of subway art!

-It's the Bible, no?

This is the Bible,
this one here.

Subway art ruined my life.

Subway art just spread
across the world,

and so you know,
so she's an icon!

[Music fades]

I was amazed at...

I didn't realise the impact
that the book had had.

Long before the Internet.

Because the sales were
really very modest at first.

They didn't have the actual book.

It was really hard to get it
at that time, really difficult.

Very difficult
to get the real book.

You have this, you never leave
this with anybody.

This book had to be
passed around by hand,

through a photocopy version.

A photocopy. Black and white.

And they made photocopies
of those and gave those copies...

Get a pen, and we write down all
the colours in the book.

What they liked about subway art

was that it captured these
trains that before that,

maybe they got a glimpse of one
on some television show.

Subway art provided the template

for them to carefully
study the styles.

Really, like...
With them linked,

like two crazy guys like this.

-The whole day, to learn it.

-Spending like, days
and days like this.

Imagine how many influence,
how many life they change.

This is crazy. How many
kids all over the world?

It's just something that
you couldn't have predicted.

And, in a way, that makes
it even better.

People have come up to me
during this trip and said

"you've changed my life,"

and all I can say to them is,
"well, you've changed my life."

And it's true.

Basically, all of this has
given my life meaning.

[Books thuds shut]

This is a Shepard fairey piece

that he made from one
of my street play photos.

He Shepard-ised it.

I would say that
there was always

something going on
with street art

but I was completely out of it.

This is another nazza

from the photo of a
little boy with a hydrant.

It's a huge art movement.

Some people say it's
the biggest art movement

in the history of the world.

It's definitely connected
to the graffiti scene.

A little photograph of me
with that first camera.

I'm like, "you know what?

If this is happening
I'm gonna be part of it."

I made a decision
to jump back in.

I tick, boom I

I mi nah really care
weh mi bump into I

I bulldozer make room I

I write that pon fi mi tomb I

I don't care if they assume I

I only stop to collect,
then I resume I

I you sleep, I goon I

I yuh nah waan test
who's badder than who I

I tick, boom. I

[applause]

I think I probably thought,
"if it doesn't work out,

I'll jump out again."

My first thought was
"where is that drawing?"

And then my second thought was,

"I think I better put in
a protective plastic sleeve!“

dondi gave me this drawing

because I gave him
a picture of the train.

It says,
"I just wanted to touch base

and increase my offer
on the dondi drawing

"to... based on 2018 market value

growth for his work."

If dondi's work is now
really valuable

and I knew that
one of his paintings

has sold for $240,000,

which is an incredible amount,

then I felt that this drawing
should be in a museum.

I just decided I'd rather
hold onto the drawing,

I like that... and I just...
And dondi gave this to me!

This was a present, so...
That was my decision.

Internet, Instagram,
social media

have completely changed
the street art situation.

[Music on radio]

[Man on radio] What is up?

Right now we are
in wynwood art district,

in Miami beach, Florida.

It's art Basel
the big international art fair

so of course
the art district is popping.

[Funky music]

In 2005-2006,
we came to wynwood,

an industrial neighbourhood.

Crime-ridden, and dilapidated.

But there was this undercurrent
of a lot of graffiti.

What we chose to do is just take
it to a whole 'nother level

and create the wynwood walls.

I came out to show my art
from new Mexico, I love wynwood.

It's also confusing

because I'd like to see
more artists everywhere

and less $500 sunglasses.

[Tour guide] 19705, 19805,

this one of the first
street artists to come about.

It would take 30 minutes,
just...

Because it was illegal
so they had to hurry.

- What's his name?
- Crash, he's from New York City

we call it gentle-fication,
as opposed to gentrification

but things will change,

that's the natural evolution
of things.

[Man] Martha has been
involved with all this

for 40 years or more.

She used to be just
about the only one.

It's really
a different world now.

[Driving music]

There's Martha with all
her experience and skill.

Julia! This camera is frickin
awesome!

Now there's often
a crowd of 100-200 people,

all with their camera phones.

Hi. Could I get you
to take a photo?

Who wants to be in the photo?

[Cheering]

[Man] What is remarkable about
Martha is she keeps going.

Ok. Are we missing anyone?

I'm just interested
in seeing what happens.

Good, bad or indifferent.

I'm going to try
to somehow capture

what's happening with it.

Who made that t-shirt?

[Announcer]
So, not only is this...

I guess I kind of stick out
because I have white hair

but still, if I'm in
any kind of a situation

with a bunch of photographers,

they don't take me seriously,
and that really hurts.

I'll fight for my position.

Ok, that looks good!

I'm standing like this, and
some guy will just come,

and he'll just stand
right in front of me.

One more everybody.

You don't have to
do anything crazy.

As if I didn't exist.

They couldn't believe
that I could

possibly be
a serious photographer.

I think this is gonna block it!

Ha! Fuck!

You see him slow down for me?
He slowed down for me.

- Did he? Really?
- Yeah, yeah.

I had the camera,
"I'm sorry!" He said!

It's tricky with the light.

It changes each time
you move too,

because of the... whether
there's a tree behind.

Oh, he's gonna...

There's a fucking train coming!

[Cackles]

So I'm running, running, and
then he comes just with me see?

Oh, that's so cool.
He got great shots.

Yeah,
but I still didn't get the...

No but you got the train!

Wide angle.

Yeah you don't need me anymore.

- Huh?
- Nobody needs me anymore.

Oh, yes, of course!

Only for Martha we pose.

She knows we hate that shit.

[Bass from speakers]

Oh, I just missed it! Fuck!

I'm gonna go down there.

Who's got the camera?

Well, take it!

I understand now why celebrities
were always ducking cameras

and not wanting to sign
autographs and things.

They would just like to be
left alone to eat their lunch...

I want to take a picture
with you,

before I leave,
before I go home.

Ok, take it quickly.

Without having
their picture taken.

We are all graffiti artists!

It's wildstyle, baby!

I've had people on the
subway recognise me!

I've walked down the street,

it's very odd,
you know "Martha Cooper!"

[Man] Marty Cooper in the
house! She's just flown in.

I feel like the photography part

isn't understood
as well as it could be.

Can I please have you
sign my book as well?

Ok, you have to understand
they're already pre-signed,

- but I can add something.
- I'm such a big fan.

And I try to be nice.

But it does make me
feel uncomfortable.

I've been following you
for quite a while.

You're amazing!

You're like my grandmother!

Lets make it 'mother'!

- You're like my mother, then.
- There you go.

I love it.

L-e-o-n?
I already signed it here.

What are we doing here?

To the boys
at le fix city tattoo.

- Where is fix city tattoo?
- Copenhagen.

Oh! Copenhagen! Ok.

Thank you!

Do you...

Do you guys know the book
that I did about tattooing?

I'm only a celebrity
in one particular field.

And if you take one step out
of that field and I'm nobody.

- Denmark?
- Yes.

Ok! Tokyo tattoo 1970,

it's all pictures
I shot in Japan, check it out!

- It's about tattooing!
- Thank you.

Before the graffiti,
I was interested in tattooing!

You gotta check it out.

And I just don't want
to get caught

with, like, 100 other
things to sign.

Bye-bye!

This is the next one.

You're like my grandmother!

You know I don't have to tell
you, if you sign one tonight,

other people will see it
and then they'll stand in line.

One more. One more.

I've signed all of these.

Thank you very much.

- That way? Ok.
- This way.

It would have been
enough for her

to just photograph the graffiti

that she saw on trains right?

For a lot of people
that's enough.

But that was not enough for her.

[Martha]
I love illegal graffiti.

Being on the inside,
being invited...

Ok, that's fine with me.

Ok, thank you.

[Dogs bark in distance]

[Trains roar]

Yeah.

It does look fresh.

Cheers!

Oh, that's kinda cute.

I hope it's in focus.

I think what we did tonight

is exactly the kind of risk
that I'm willing to take.

So I really thank you
for not only

did you take me,
but you didn't, like...

Act as if I was an old lady.

- You just took me in you know.
- Come on, I was scared.

When you do something like that,

you understand the attraction
of the whole culture.

Because that kind of thrill
is like a drug or something.

You know?

It was perfect. It was perfect.

[Martha laughs]

It was. It was great.

And thank you! I mean, like...
Do you have a grandmother?

Marty! Hello!

Look at you!

I want to take you
into my studio

and show you some
pictures! 'Cause...

- Of what happened last night?
- Yes! Crazy action!

-Oooh.

Oh, Martha. Oh, my god.

Do you... do you see any...

Martha, do you see
any sign of police?

Maybe they would fine me but

really are they gonna
put me in jail for this?

- Of course they will.
- You think?

Once I've put myself in
the situation,

I'm not going to worry
about whether it's dangerous.

- Wow.
- Oh my god.

Now that I have the shots,
it feels amazing and wonderful

and I'm so glad I did this.

But when you're in the middle
of trying to shoot it

and trying to get the shots

it's not like I'm celebrating

the activity
and congratulating myself

for being allowed
to get into the yard and shoot.

I'm just trying to keep up
and take... get the picture.

I'm not thinking about
anything other than exposure,

you know, shutter speed,
lighting and who's doing what.

I'm not feeling anything,

other than photography.

Martha could have gone
into corporate photography

and photographed like,
ad campaigns, or something

and met a bunch of models, it
would have bored her to tears.

Think she likes travel,
adventure,

and a little bit of danger.

That's, you know... it wasn't...
Put it this way.

The people that she photographed
were not choirboys.

Go slow, slow, slow, slow.

Let me look at... yes! Yes! Yes!

This is it! This is it!
This is it!

- Oh, there's a spot.
- Right here! Perfect! See?

- Look, folks!
- The parking gods.

We gotta get a shot of that
train going! Bare! Boring.

Hmm.

Trying to line it up.

Oh, shit! Hold this. Here.

Ok, now I see I need to move...
Move! Move! Move! Move.

Ok, I see, it's gotta
be above the train.

Alright, so I was back further.

Ok we have to wait
for the next train.

Oh, there's one!
That was convenient.

Ok. Good. Done! We got it!

Although let me see...
I want to see the book again.

Look! Yo!

[Man] Dondi! Bro, that's that
shit I was telling you.

Ok, but do you know
who took the picture?

No I don't. Was it you?

[Laughter]

Wow, bro, it was you?

I seen a picture of
the lady that took it.

Bro, you gotta take a picture
with me, bro. Me and her, bro.

You got a
legend fucking picture.

You know,
it's enormously satisfying

to be able to continue
to having relationships

with the people
that I photograph.

- That's incredible! I love it.
- I never seen anyone do it

in a sense it's become
my family.

And I'm part of this
enormous, connected

street art graffiti world

and that's very satisfying.

[Man] Martha, she feel that
time how it's powerful.

She feel that. She saw.

The same thing
that I think she saw

when she saw kids playing

with whatever
they find in the street.

She see the same thing in
these guys painting subway.

[Relaxed music]

There's no one like you.

We love you. We love you.

She change our life.

This idea to take
photos of these guys

in the subways change our life.

Ok, see you.

Bye-bye.

[Shoes squeak in quiet room]

[Fireworks whistle]

[Martha] Everyday life
is only everyday

for a short period of time.

The subway pictures
took 30, 40 years

to be of interest to people.

You know it might take
that long for Baltimore.

[Chill music]

Maybe the next big thing
is gonna happen

in China, or Japan or Pakistan,

for all we know.

I'm sure that there
will be somebody

there taking pictures of it.

I'm never going to
be a Google doodle.

I don't think I'm going
to make it to that level.

[Chuckles] Not a...

Not a very high aspiration.

I don't care about my legacy,
I'm gonna be dead.

Let somebody else worry
about my legacy.

Subway art is out there,
the books are out there,

I think they will survive.

I just keep at it. Keep going.

What's next?

[Giggling]

[Rock music]