Martha Cooper is best known for introducing the world to New York's graffiti scene in the 70s and 80s, but I'm particularly drawn to her work documenting children at play.
"I was on vacation from the post and I saw these kids making cars from tin cans [...] and when I came back I thought well let me see if I can find that in New York."
On discovering graffiti:
"one day [a boy] showed me his notebook with drawings [...] he explained to me that he was practicing to put his name on a wall on a train. Before that I didn't understand what I was seeing on the streets. It was like a code, like the Rosseta stone. I was able to decipher the letters I had been seeing"
"he said I can introduce you to a king, and of course I wanted that. [he introduced me to] Dondi, one of the greatest of all the graffiti kings"
