THEY SAY A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS...
But we think Mick Rock's pictures are worth a minimum of 10,000. Below are 10 superior reasons to collect the work of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll portrait photographer.
1. Not only has Mick Rock recorded history, he IS history. The ‘Space Oddity’ music video? Directed it. Mates with Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett as a student? Tick. Chief photographer on the Rocky Horror Picture Show? Been there. Diesel U Music Legends Award for services to music? Won it.
2. Let’s be honest, we all love making smart investment choices. Art is personal, so many collect Rock’s work due to who the subjects are, but it helps to know the sales of the photographer’s works have accelerated over the past decade, particularly after the release of superior limited edition collectors book, GLAM! published by Taschen and a super successful LA solo exhibition alongside it.
3. Mick Rock has had an entire documentary made about him. SHOT! The Psycho Spiritual Mantra of Rock, directed by Barney Clay. It first aired on Netflix (click here to set a reminder when it next becomes available!) and on IMDB, it has a credible 6.8 rating.
4. "Mick sees me the way I see myself" said David Bowie about his friend and official photographer. Clearly if Mick was photographing Bowie exactly how he saw himself, we're talking about a true master of his craft. The ability to capture what cannot be seen, to capture emotion, or to capture something which cannot even be named, is the ultimate goal and achievement of all photographers. And artists for that matter.
5. It doesn’t matter where you are, Rock matters. Not only has he exhibited internationally, he is collected internationally. The allure is enduring from LA to Liverpool, Berlin to Amsterdam. South of France to Down Under, Australia.
6. He really is The Man That Shot (And Still Shoots) The Music. Mick is known the world over, as The Man That Shot That Seventies. And that is true, he did. But he has done and is doing so much more. For every Queen album cover or portrait of Freddie Mercury there is a Miley Cyrus album cover. For every portrait of Syd Barrett, there is one of The Killers and for every Joan Jett there is Lady Gaga. He abd his work is as relevant today as he has ever been.
7. More than the images, Mick often shares the story of the shot, so when you purchase his work, you are purchasing a moment, and often a golden moment, in music history as well as an intimate moment between Mick and his subject.
8. Like to buy British? Michael David Rock was born in London, England in 1948 and although now based in New York City, Rock is a British institution. He also went to Cambridge University, graduating with a degree in Medieval and Modern Languages.
9. Be as cool as Bowie. David Bowie chose Mick as his official photographer. You are choosing to buy Mick Rock’s artwork. YOU are effectively as cool as Ziggy Stardust. Tell THAT to the kids from school on Friends Reunited.
10. He is on the ball with today's music culture and the press love him for it...Mick may be classed as a veteran these days, but he is absolutely down with the kids and moving with the times. Check out what he has to say about social media and why the 'underground' movements of yesteryear will never return, in this Guardian interview