BILLBOARD: Backbeat: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Theophilus London, Mark Ronson Rock at ‘Rocked,’ Mick Rock’s Photo Exhibit

The watcher became the watched last night at the W Downtown. Legendary British music photographer Mick Rock, a star in his own right, was in jubilant spirits at the latest installment of the hotel’s Symmetry Live event and opening of his ROCKED photo exhibit. Looking every bit the icon in his trademark scarf and Ray Ban spectacles, he darted about the festivities and mingled with friends and fans.

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For my sins in a former life, I’ve been forced to spend an inordinate amount of time with musicians in this life. Of course, I love them.

A camera is a wonderful ally. It requires minimal maintenance and provides entry to a world of endless imagery.

My ambition was not to be a great photographer (though that certainly would have been a worthy stance). It was a lust to embrace anything that startled or energized me.

I am not in the business of documenting or revealing personalities. I am in the business of freezing shadows and bottling auras.

Without the rock ‘n rollers, I would not have developed as an image man.

You want to shock people with a bit of mystery and beauty. That’s my favorite kind of shocking.

I’ve never felt like a voyeur, although I’ve certainly done plenty of looking!

There’s an art to looking back - how to celebrate the past without being entrapped by it. Photographs provide the great physical link.

My allegiance was always to the act. I wanted them to be happy. I wasn’t owned by a magazine or a record label.

I smell pictures more than I see them and I hear pictures more than I can smell them. It’s very habit forming.