About the work

Michael David Rock was born in west London and earned a scholarship to Cambridge where he studied modern languages, graduating in the late sixties."It is there that I discovered the lives and works of the great Bohemian poets of the late nineteenth century Paris, like Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Nerval. They were my heroes ... I had no interest in other photographers. Later I became intrigued by the works of George HurreLl and Man Ray, but I really didn't discover them untli probably 1974."

It was the expressive seduction of subversive poets of yore rather than finite imagery that encouraged Mick to explore his own creative expression. He became interested in the artists and performers at the cutting edge of their time who were not afraid to cross the line. "They were all definitely very special people to me; they were not just rock 'n roll. Most weren't "stars" when I first met them. To me they were free-spirited visionaries."

"London in the late sixties and early seventies was a hotbed of creative interchange. The prevalent hippie philosophy united all manner of artists, musicians, film makers, models, designers, actors, writers, and photographers, into a unique and intensely fertile community. My timing was excellent. Curiosity and circumstance drew me to the flame of rock 'n roll."

Mick Rock continued to hone his skills at the London Film School even as he jumped directly into the London scene. He soon was traveling back and forth between London and New York, on tour with emerging artists such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop. In 1977 he moved permanently to New York, and quickly sensed the importance of the bustling new wave scene: his images of the Ramones, Debbie Harry, Lou Reed, and Talking Heads are major exemplifications of this period.

Mick Rock was instrumental in creating the key rock images of the last three decades. His innovative portraits of Important: musicians have been called as significant as Andy Warhol's celebrity paintings in constructing the images we hold in our minds of the larger-than-life figures of our popular culture. "A Photographic Record" documents his work from 1969 - 1980, and several new book projects are scheduled for release in 1998-9. Rock's creativity extends beyond photography, and includes art direction, music video direction, and three Grammy nominations.

"Many years ago I noted in my diary: 'I am not in the business of documenting or revealing personalities. I am in the business of freezing shadows and bottling auras'. I still like the sound of that."

Text by: Soho Triad Fine Arts, New York, NY