Rocky Schenck
Rocky Schenck is an American photographer. He was raised on a ranch in the hill country outside of Dripping Springs, Texas. At age twelve, he began studying oil painting and began selling his work professionally at age 13. In his early teens, he began writing, directing and photographing short experimental films and learning still photography while shooting production stills on the sets of his movies.
His fascination with the art of filmmaking and photography motivated a transition to Los Angeles. Artists in the motion picture, musical, literary and theatrical worlds began approaching Schenck for their projects, thus creating a diverse portfolio of fine art, portraiture, film and theater work.
A gallery owner in New York discovered Schenck's work and gave him his first one-man photography exhibition, followed by a second exhibition a year later. Both shows were well received and reviewed by several publications, including Art in America, Artforum, and Aperture. Since then, Rocky has continued to show in galleries around the world and his work is now included in several prestigious museum and private collections. The Wittliff Collections in San Marcos, Texas own the largest collection of Schenck's work.
In the music and entertainment world, Schenck has photographed several hundred album covers and has written and directed numerous music clips and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portraits for Vogue, Rolling Stone, Time, New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and others. He has collaborated with personalities ranging from Adele, Francis Bean Cobain, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Ray Bradbury, Ellen DeGeneres, Baz Luhrmann, Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, P.J. Harvey, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, T-Bone Burnett, Joni Mitchell, The Cramps, Tom Cruise, Johnny Mathis, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Josh Duhamel, Diana Krall, Brian Wilson, Donna Summer, Nicole Kidman, Gary Coleman, k.d. lang, Jerry Lee Lewis, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Neil Diamond, Larry Fishburn, Rod Stewart, Gladys Knight, and Alice in Chains.
Director William Friedkin utilized Schenck's art photographs as massive sets in his production of the opera The Makropulos Affair in Florence, Itay, and also in the classic Bartok opera, Duke Bluebeard's Castle in Los Angeles.
A collection of Rocky Schenck's photographs was published by the University of Texas Press in 2003, which sold out its first and second editions. The Recurring Dream is the title of Schenck's second book of fine art photographs and will be published by the University of Texas Press in the fall of 2016. A collection of Schenck's portraits of artists, actors, musicians, writers, eccentrics and the occasional nude model entitled "Portraits, Etc." will be available in 2017.[1]
Published works
His published collections include:
- Rocky Schenck: Photographs (2003, University of Texas Press, TX) ISBN 978-0-292-70217-2
Selected Videos
- Ace of Base - "Lucky Love"
- Adele - "Hometown Glory"
- Afghan Whigs - "Gentlemen"
- Alice in Chains - "Grind"/"Them Bones"/"We Die Young"/"What the Hell Have I"
- Marc Anthony - "When I Dream At Night"
- David Arnold and David McAlmont - "Diamonds Are Forever"
- Barnes and Barnes - "Fish Heads"/"Soak It Up"
- Cindy Lee Berryhill - "Indirectly Yours"
- Book of Love - "Alice Everyday"
- Peabo Bryson - "Can You Stop the Rain"
- Jerry Cantrell - "My Song"
- Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (with PJ Harvey) - "Henry Lee"
- Nick Cave (with Kylie Minogue) - "Where The Wild Roses Grow"
- Paul Westerberg - Love Untold
- Combustible Edison - "Vertigogo"
- The Cramps - "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns"/"Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon"
- Iris Dement - "Our Town"
- Willy Deville - "Hey Joe"
- Devo - "Post-Post Modern Man"
- Dramarama - "Haven't Got A Clue"
- Gloria Estefan - 'Everlasting Love"/"Party Time"
- Faster Pussycat - "You're So Vain"
- Delta Goodrem - "In This Life"
- Nanci Griffith - "This Heart"
- Emmylou Harris - "Thanks To You"
- Imperial Teen - "Yoo-Hoo"
- Jellyfish - "That Is Why"
- Diana Krall - "Let's Face the Music"
- Alison Krauss (featuring John Waite) - "Missing You"
- Alison Krauss and Union Station - "Maybe"/"New Favorite"
- Luna - "Slash Your Tires"
- Martika - "Coloured Kisses"
- Joey McIntyre - "Stay the Same"
- Meat Puppets - "Backwater"
- Joni Mitchell - "Come In From The Cold"/
- Joni Mitchell and Seal - "How Do You Stop?"
- Stevie Nicks (with Sheryl Crow) - "If You Ever Did Believe"
- Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - "Gone, Gone, Gone"/"Please Read The Letter"
- Raging Slab - "Anywhere But Here"/"Bent For Silver"/"Don't Dog Me"
- Redd Kross - "Annie's Gone"/"Jimmy's Fantasy"/"The Lady In The Front Row"
- Seed - "Rapture"
- Sponge - "Have You Seen Mary"
- Lisa Stansfield - "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up"
- Rod Stewart - "If We Fall In Love Tonight"
- Sugarland - "Everyday America"
- Donna Summer - "I Will Go With You"
- Supersuckers - "Born With a Tail"
- Van Halen - "Fire in the Hole"/"Human Beings"
- Billy Vera and The Beaters - "I Can Take Care of Myself"
- Visiting Kids - "Trilobites"
- Paul Westerberg - "World Class Fad"
- Chris Whitley - "Living with the Law"
- Trisha Yearwood - "Georgia Rain"
External links
- Official website
- Rocky Schenck at the Internet Movie Database
- Rocky Schenck at M+B Gallery
- Wittliff Collections of Southwestern and Mexican Photography, Texas State University
- Jackson Fine Art Exhibit Atlanta, Ga (2004)