Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History, 1955–Present

Buckland’s visually hypnotic history of rock photography is as much a history of rock as subject as it is of photography. In fact, it is the inseparability of the two that lies at the heart of Buckland’s argument. Here are nearly 300 iconic photographs by those photographers who understood the power of the image in the formation and sustenance of rock-and-roll culture from 1955 onward. The care with which Buckland selects representative photographers and their most significant images is matched by her interpretive prowess. In her comparison of photographs by Mick Rock and Masayoshi Sukita of David Bowie’s 1973 tour, for example, Buckland demonstrates “no discernible difference in affection for the pop star among teenagers on three continents.” Such observations stand testament to the scope of Buckland’s inquiry, which throughout the book directs us over and over toward the definitive visual responses of rock fans as well as the musicians, be it through the gestures of physical expression or choices in fashion. Buckland carefully but deliberately argues that the art of rock photography has been sacrificed to the paparazzi and corporate art departments. In light of this inclusive, heady and visceral collection of the genre’s best, it would be hard to argue otherwise. (Nov.)