The Book That Spread New York's Subway Graffiti Around the World

The spray-painted subway cars of 1970s and ‘80s New York City appeared symbolic of the ​city’s status as the blighted, crime-ridden center of the art world. But what seemed to be an “only in New York” phenomenon soon spread. One book from that era has remained a bible to graffiti writers around the world ever since.

Subway Art, first released in 1984, is the work of Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, two photographers who moved to New York in the 1970s. Cooper, working on a photo project about kids playing on the street, stumbled her way into the city’s graffiti scene when a boy she photographed showed her a tag he sketched in a notebook. Through him, Cooper met other artists including DONDI, known today as one of the most influential graffiti writers.