Name Tagging [Hardcover]

Martha Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2010

In Name Tagging, graffiti photography legend Martha Cooper presents a dizzying array of "Hello My Name Is" stickers adorned with tags, the origin of graffiti and today's street art cultures. Cooper's introduction, artist interviews and photographs make clear how artists famed and anonymous take advantage of the accessibility and practicality of nametag stickers. From CLAW MONEY and NECK FACE to TWIST, SURE, FAUST, COSBE and many, many more, Cooper's camera has captured the artistry and audacity of these artists and their distinctive tags. 

Name Tagging captures the variety and innovation of tags, crediting the form's history while demonstrating how old school methods breed some of today's most exciting graffiti.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Mark Batty Publisher; 1 edition (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981960065
• ISBN-13: 978-0981960067
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.6 x 6.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Name tags as art form: NOW I get it, July 10, 2010

By 

Mimi (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Name Tagging (Hardcover)

Not knowing anything about name tags, I found this book much more interesting and informative than expected. The artists who use this medium --- they tag stick-on "Hello! My Name Is ..." labels and then slap them up in public places --- have thought much about their purpose, message, technique, and style, and that comes through clearly in the interviews. Most say name tags offer a means to create art unhurriedly in studio and to post it around the city quickly and easily, with little risk of getting caught. They also allow an artist to get his or her name "up" in many more locales than graffiti does. Some even use labels in other languages --- "Hola! Mi Nombre Es ..." --- to push the form into different cultures.

With its hundreds of photos of examples, this small book succeeds in making visible what is invisible to most of us, and once you finish reading, you'll see name tags everywhere --- and smile.

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book about antisocial jerks, February 1, 2011

By 

Dan Priven (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Name Tagging (Hardcover)

Ms. Cooper interviews eleven vandals who mark their territory like a dog, using stolen stickers with their names on them instead of squirts of urine.

The best way to honor the artistic ethos of those profiled in the book is to steal the book from a store, or to order it from Amazon, cover it in unrelated stickers with your name on it and return it for a full refund. It doesn't matter that the author, publisher, and merchant are harmed by doing so. After all, it's art, right?

Vexation at the subjects aside, the book does a fine job showing examples of the form. The interviews are brief and superficial, but that is quite appropriate given the ephemeral nature of the "art" and the perpetrators.