New York State of Mind
Martha Cooperis a documentary photographer who has specialized in urban vernacular art and architecture for more than twenty-five years. Cooper worked as a staff photographer for theNew York Postfrom 1977 to 1980, when she left to follow the emerging Hip Hop scene. In 1984, collaborating with Henry Chalfant, she publishedSubway Art(Thames & Hudson), showcasing the best painted trains of the era. Cooper’s other books of photographs includeWe B*Girlz(Miss Rosen Editions/powerHouse Books, 2005),Street PlayandHip Hop Files: Photographs 1979–1984(FromHere To Fame, 2006 and 2004) andR.I.P.: New York Spraycan Memorials(Thames & Hudson, 1994) with text by folklorist Joseph Sciorra. Cooper is the Director of Photography atCity Lore: the New York Center for Urban Folk Culture. She lives in New York.Miss Rosen Editions, a division of powerHouse Cultural Entertainment, spotlights contemporary urban culture with titles includingPublic Access: Ricky Powell Photographs 1985–2005, We B*Girlzby Martha Cooper and Nika Kramer,Pees on Earthby Ellen Jong,Bombshell: The Life and Crimes of Claw Money, It’s All Goodby Boogie,Bearsby Kent Rogowski,Burgerworld: Inside Hamburger Eyesby Ray Potes,New York State of Mindby Martha Cooper,Do Not Give Way to Evilby Lisa Kahane,Belgrade Belongs to Meby Boogie,TV Partyby Glenn O’Brien, andFUN! The True Story of Patti Astor. Publisher Sara Rosen, Publicity Director of powerHouse Books since 2000 and editor ofpowerHouse Magazinesince 2006, also curates exhibitions at powerHouse Arena.