story

Rocky Schenck was raised on a ranch in the hill country outside of Dripping Springs, Texas. His parents were an imaginative, creative and colorful couple who enjoyed life, parties, and the occasional drink or two. They delighted in creating a fantasy world for their two children, making each and every holiday, birthday, and lost tooth a “really big deal”. Rocky and his sister Becky believed in tooth fairies, Easter bunnies, and Santa Claus just a little bit longer than other kids. He was nicknamed “Rocky” when he was three days old by his sister, who was confused by the other names his parents chose for his birth certificate: Richard Davis Botho Arthur Schenck.

At age twelve, Schenck began studying oil painting, having been greatly influenced by the romantic landscape paintings and portraiture work of his great-great grandfather Hermann Lungkwitz (1813-1891) and great-great uncle Richard Petri (1824-1857), both German immigrants and classically trained artists who moved to the Texas Hill Country in 1851. Schenck began selling his paintings professionally at age 13.

Around this same time, Schenck began a lifelong interest in motion pictures and photography, watching vintage films on television as often as possible. 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, where he worked at a variety of odd jobs while continuing to create films and photographs. 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.

Schenck travels often to create his fine art work. “I love to go out wandering with my camera, sometimes with no specific agenda planned for myself,” Schenck said in an interview with author John Berendt. “I always stumble across something or someone that intrigues me – whether it’s a hypnotic landscape or a perfect stranger going about their day unaware of my eavesdropping on their reality. I simply take my camera with me wherever I go and try to remain open to whatever life shoves – or gently places – in front of me.”

Schenck has collaborated with personalities ranging from Francis Bean Cobain, Adele, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Ray Bradbury, Baz Luhrmann, Nick Cave, P.J. Harvey, Annie Lennox, Diana Krall, Tom Cruise, Johnny Mathis, The Eels, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Stevie Nicks, Donna Summer, Alice in Chains, Scissor Sisters and The Cramps. Director William Friedkin utilized Schenck’s art photographs as massive sets in his production of the classic Bartok opera, “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.”

A collection of Rocky Schenck’s photographs was published by the University of Texas Press in 2003. John Berendt, author of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, and a collector of Mr. Schenck’s work, has written the foreword. Schenck’s second book is currently a work in progress.

Rocky Schenck
Photographs
Foreword by John Berendt
2003, University of Texas Press in Austin, TX; 160 pages
Hardcover, $45

Pages

Search

Collections

Archives

log in/register