Written by Kendra Frankle, Photo courtesy of SCAD
When you think of your favorite photographer, who do you think of? Now, what are they famous for? That one portrait of Leonardo DiCaprio? The 1969 Woodstock photo? How about the Afgan girl from Nat Geo?
Well, seeing that they are your favorite photographer, can you give another example of one of their photos? If you’re struggling to think of another, you’re not in trouble. In fact, photographer, Martha Cooper would agree that every famous photographer is only famous for one specific concentration. Her work on graffiti culture is well known throughout not only the nation, but the entire world. However, her work with Japanese tattoo artists and communities throughout New York takes a lot of digging to find.
Her documentary, “Martha: A Picture Story” does a wonderful job combining Martha’s history, photos and interviews. When you think about the idea of photographs placed in a film, you may think of a slideshow with music, or at least I do. Nevertheless, the filmmakers so effortlessly placed Cooper’s photos into the film at just the right moments, to just the right music, in a way that gives the audience a chance to experience the real essence of the photographs. If you are a documentary photographer, or have any interest in storytelling, I cannot urge you enough to see this film.
The inspiring narrative follows Martha Cooper throughout her journey of becoming a photographic storyteller. In coping with life’s fast pace, Cooper often deals with the question of what is really worth capturing, and what can be left forgotten? A daily newspaper would tell you that politics, tragedy and the update on Kylie Jenner’s new lipstick are what’s important. To them, this is what really needs to be covered, “truly” shared with the world. But what about real people’s lives? The ones who are honestly living in the real world. Nope. They’re boring, irrelevant. At least they were until Cooper showed up “photographing the corners of life”.
The film emphasizes the importance of history and culture while maintaining Cooper’s heartwarming personality. Cooper doesn’t just “show up and shoot.” She becomes a piece of what she is photographing, inserting herself directly in the story. From 75-year-old Cooper’s interview, to the clips of her photographing in her 20’s, the filmmaker’s placement of interviews and old footage makes you want to be her friend. When she was told to abandon a story because the “riot” wasn’t happening she stayed and discovered an entire hip hop culture. No one was paying her to take these photos, she was capturing them because they needed to be captured.
Her photos look as if she wasn’t there at all, merely a fly on the wall. Much like the filmmakers when creating her documentary. You don’t feel as though you are watching a documentary, rather you are being told a story by an old friend.
