My Dear Friend Mick Rock Left Planet Earth yesterday…. on to his next Adventure in the Stars.
My Brother, Mick was known as being the “Photographer who Shot the 70’s”, “Iconic Photographer of Rock Stars,” and on and on. His images immortalized the likes of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Freddie Mercury, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, and so many more…. These photos that he is so famous for captured the “Spirit” and “Essence” of Creative people on their Creative Journey…long before they were famous…
Mick was an Adventurer and Connoisseur of Life. He emersed himself into Experiences and his camera, an extension of himself, was that which captured his Soul and the Spirit of the artists. He once told me that he didn’t love Photography, it’s just that Photography was who he IS.
He did LOVE alternative healing and spirituality. He was obsessed with it. He was a Vegetarian, Kundalini Yoga Practitioner, and Connsoiur of Massage, Acupuncture, Chiropractic and so much more. He did head stands 30 minutes per day, recited Mantras, hooked himself up to a “Brain Box”, and received several massages per week.
Mick took 3 hours to prepare himself for a photo shoot. Before a Photo Shoot…he would get a massage, stand on his head, recite mantras, and then spin like a Whirling Dervish until he entered a Trance. Once he entered this Trance…the performance began. The photo shoot was a dance between him and the artist. Mick’s outrageousness and playfulness would coax the artist though a play of Archetypes and Characters….and luckily for us, we have the Intangible Images to Adore.
To me, Mick was a Maestro. Watching him live life with the curiosity of a child and the recklessness of a teenager…experiencing the Sacred in the Profane. I won’t remember him for the Images he left us but for the Paradoxes he shameless embraced. The Shy and the Outrageous, the Humble and the Proud, the Compassionate and the Selfish, the Simple and the Extravagant, the Health Nut and the Addict. For aren’t we all imperfect Contradictions navigating Planet Earth?
I will remember Mick Rock, a man who channeled God’s Gifts through the lens of a Camera. We celebrate his Iconic Celebrity Images that have the Signature of Mick’s Unique and Magnificent Spirit.
I miss and love you, brother…but know your Adventure into the Universe of Love will be Epic and Your images of God and the Angels will be ...“Iconic”!
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