Mick Rock Talks New Exhibit, Says David Bowie Is in 'His Howard Hughes Period' -- Exclusive Gallery

Posted on Dec 21st 2011 12:30PM by Chris Epting
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Mick Rock

A new traveling exhibit of the work of legendary photographer Mick Rock recently opened at the New York City's W Downtown hotel. Running until Dec. 29, "Rocked: A Photo Exhbition by Mick Rock" is free to the public and includes photos of David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Queen, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Bono and Lady Gaga, Lou Reed and many more artists Rock shot as part of the W's acclaimed Symmetry Live concert series.

Often referred to as "The Man Who Shot the Seventies," his exhibit also features younger stars like Theophilus London, Ellie Goulding and Janelle Monae. Spinner recently caught up with Rock to discuss his career, the exhibit and his current relationship with Bowie.

What can people expect with the new exhibit?

A lot of classic stuff: The Iggy back bend, the "orange smile" Debbie Harry shot, a very early Madonna shot from 1980, the 'Queen II' album cover, a Freddie Mercury shot that never been seen, the Lou Reed 'Transformer' cover, Mick Jagger, Syd Barrett. More recently, there's a photo of Dave Grohl, Jimmy Fallon, Kate Moss and lots more. Not to mention the folks I've shot performing at the W as part of their Symmetry Live series, like Cee Lo Green, Theophilus London, Ellie Goulding, Janelle Monae, Neon Trees. Oh, and Lady Gaga with Bono: One of my favorite shots. I put in many classic pieces with some cool stuff and then some never before seen stuff. You can't be predictable with these things. The earliest shot is Syd Barrett in 1969, all the way up to Lady Gaga.

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You helped shape tastes with your photos in the '70s, along with the music. Can photographers still do that today?

It's a different time today. The music that influences the culture today is much broader. Back then, it was just rock 'n' roll. Today it's everything: Rap, country, all kinds of things. Which is cool. I was either very lucky or very intuitive to have come up with a lot of these era-defining photographs. I'm both flattered and lumbered with the tag of "The Man Who Shot the '70s." I mean, I did shoot in the '80s, '90s and new millennium, lots of stuff, and I'm still working really hard! [Laughs]

Your video work, particularly the early David Bowie pieces, holds up very well.

People have become more aware lately of the Bowie videos. I love those things. I was lucky with my subject matter, obviously. He was just the best. I was lucky too in that there was no budget, almost no money at all, which forced me to work in certain efficient ways. There's always so much stuff in videos you don't need, I think. People want the acts, that's what they want to see. Those Bowie pieces are in the permanent collection now at the Museum of Modern Art -- who would ever have thought they'd end up there? Lack of funding can cause significant art is the lesson, I suppose [laughs]. Save the million dancers. Just show me the act. If the act has true talent and presence, why overload the production?

Sort of like your photos, too.

Exactly. My pictures are not overly elaborate, right? I'm not interested in all the trimmings. I'm interested in the person, the artist. So I tend to keep it simple.

Are you in touch with Bowie these days?

David is in his Howard Hughes period. God bless him, he's earned a break, so no. We did a great session in 2002, though. You can't dial back the clock, but I'd love to work with him again.

Do you miss shooting album covers? Real, full size album covers?

I can't get trapped by the past, but yes! I do miss the larger form album cover. But some bands still do it. It's such a different time today. But vinyl has not gone away completely, thank God.

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