For over forty years he has been photographing rock ‘n’ roll deities—David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Queen—capturing some of the most potent and iconic rock moments of all time. Now, with two books coming out and a documentary about his life that debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, Treats! meets Mick Rock, “the man who shot the 70s” in his NYC studio to talk sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, and his new obsession with photographing Japanese Kabuki theatre.
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.
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