Henry Chalfant: Photography & the Urban Art Scene

Delve into our archive dedicated to the influential photographer Henry Chalfant, whose lens captured the birth and evolution of hip-hop culture. Chalfant’s iconic images document the vibrant graffiti and street art scenes of New York City, offering invaluable historical context. Explore articles showcasing his impactful work, its lasting influence on urban art, and the stories behind those seminal photographs. We’ve gathered insightful analyses and rare perspectives on his contributions to preserving a crucial piece of art history. Discover the power and artistry of Chalfant’s vision.

Style Wars, The Outtakes

Henry Chalfant and Tony Silver have a problem: The original Style Wars outtakes footage is damaged and fading. And although with costs around 28,000 USD it’s really expensive there still is a chance to save the unique footage! Style Wars is considered the indispensable document of New York Street culture of the early ’80s, the record on film of a golden age of youthful creativity that exploded into the world from a city in crisis. ...

Pro Graffiti: Martha Cooper & Henry Chalfant

For me and I think also for you it’s always interesting to hear about, what the protagonists of urban art documentation think about graffiti. It’s interesting to hear, why and mainly how the started to document that new wave of public art! Three days ago, the guys from FatCat Films, published a five minutes video, which shows famous graffiti photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant as well as graffiti artist Blade, who spray-painted about 5,000 trains, talking about their opinions of graffiti on trains, subways and walls. ...