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MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY

By Selina MILES

PROJECTOR FILMS - as PROD

Art - Culture - Completed 2019

Festivals
& Awards

CPH:DOX 2020

HIGHLIGHTS

- Year of production
- 2019
- Genres
- Art - Culture, Documentary
- Countries
- AUSTRALIA
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Duration
- 83 mn
- Director(s)
- Selina MILES
- Producer(s)
- Daniel JOYCE (PROJECTOR FILMS)
- Synopsis
- Martha Cooper is an unexpected icon of the street
  art movement - a tiny, grey-haired figure running
  alongside crews of masked graffiti artists.
  
  In the 1970’s, as the boroughs of New York City
  burned, she worked as a photographer for the New
  York Post, seeking images of creativity and play where
  others saw crime and poverty. As a result, she captured
  some of the first images of New York graffiti, at a time
  when the city had declared war on this new culture.
  Martha and her co-author Henry Chalfant compiled
  these images into the book Subway Art. However, the
  commercial failure of the book forced Martha to leave
  graffiti behind, moving on to document many other
  hidden cultures of New York.
  
  20 years later Martha discovers she has become a
  legend of the graffiti world - a culture that has now
  exploded into a global movement. Subway Art became
  one of the most sold - and stolen - art books of all time, photocopied and shared by graffiti artists for decades.
  
  At 75 years of age, Martha finds herself navigating a
  culture vastly changed. The small community born from
  struggle and adversity, has grown into a commercial
  industry fuelled by the rise of social media. Now every
  new piece of street art is immediately uploaded, and
  crowds line up for selfies in front of popular works.
  Martha struggles to find her place in this new world,
  driven by a passion for capturing the creativity that
  helps people rise above their environment.

MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY

Festivals& Awards

Festivals
& Awards