Finding the creativity and inspiration to succeed as a top fashion photographer and editor is hard enough, maintaining it for over three decades is a whole other story. Rating‘s new show at 180 Studios is a retrospective of Rankin’s first decade of work at Shocked and confusedone of photography’s most influential magazines.
Over a ten-year period, from 1991-2001, Rankin shot more than 200 iconic editorials for Dazed and Confused. I had the opportunity to ask Rankin a few questions about this period in his career. I’m most interested in how he managed to consistently raise the bar creatively over such a long period of time while working with some of the most influential figures in music.
If you’re in the neighborhood, 180 Studios in London is hosting a retrospective. If not, enjoy the Rankin images below.
More than just an image: There’s a message
According to Rankin, his work during this period formed a manifesto for how to view the world, a political statement communicated not through words but through the lens of a camera. I’m curious what Rankin considers some of the biggest statements he’s pointed his camera at over the years. I’m surprised that Rankin doesn’t focus on the issues you might consider most important in his work: LGBTQIA+, Women’s Aid and Macmillan (domestic abuse), HIV/AIDS, or Oxfam. Instead, Rankin explains that the focus of his work is on the human condition. Of course, as a photographer, Rankin was dealing with a visual medium and he would never be satisfied if the message was heavy and overpowered the image. For Rankin, concept and aesthetics always need to come together. Whether he’s shooting a famous person or an unknown child in the Congo, Rankin strives to tell a story about what it is like to be human in our world.
His ongoing investigation of the human condition opened Rankin to new ideas, led him down new paths, and fueled his creativity. I suppose you could say that the human condition was his inspiration.
Competition as a driving force
Dazed and Confused, now just Dazed, was founded by Rankin and Jefferson Hack in 1991. Still in production, Dazed has been around for over 30 years. Given how long Rankin has been involved, I was curious how he has been able to maintain his famous creativity. Like many at the top of their game, Rankin uses competition as a driving force in his creative endeavors.
What really keeps it fresh is the internal competition within the group to get their ideas and work printed in the magazine.
Rankin explains that everyone who contributes to Dazed and Confused benefits from the tension and danger that arises from a group of truly creative people working together and encouraging each other, which helps everyone something always new. Rankin and his team pushed each other to do better, often competing for bragging rights to get more space or cover for any problem. While Rankin is just starting out in the field, the process of developing his own unique vision is just a blank canvas. Dazed is a place to experiment, to be naively brave, as Rankin said. Certainly, cutting-edge innovation is not born in comfort.
Innocence without fear.
Collaborate with other creators
Working with other creative people, especially when they have artistic influence and monumental personalities like David Bowie, U2, Björk, Vivienne Westwood, Thom Yorke or Damien Hirst, certainly sets the bar for vision. After all, how can you compete with the image of an established cultural icon? During our conversation, Rankin positioned himself as a collaborative photographer. Rankin explains that his goal is to work with his subjects as collaborators. Working closely with each subject means Rankin and his subjects get better results. Rankin noted that celebrities who don’t seem interested in collaborating with a bigger vision are those who don’t seem to stand the test of time.
There must be something in this cooperation and mutual support.
The photo of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke came from Hack and Rankin’s idea of having a musician interview themselves. Rankin explains that Yorke did it all, and as a result, the photos are personal, humorous, and emblematic of Yorke’s personality.
One of the biggest compliments Rankin receives is when people tell him that the quintessential celebrity image for them turned out to be one of his photos.
Given his interest in working with great talent, I was curious about Rankin’s process for working with these legends. In terms of his process, Rankin often comes up with ideas and presents them to his subjects. In doing so, Rankin relies heavily on empathizing with their established brand identity. He seeks to create images that deeply reflect his subjects. Rankin is always interested in finding the personalities of his famous models in the final images. With this goal in mind, in his opinion, it would not be beneficial for him to push them to be something they are not.
I am a big believer in creative conversation, as William Blake put it: “without opposition there is no progress.”
Ultimately, creative success comes from working with people who are willing to be honest with you, push you, and expand your vision. For Rankin, there’s no point in working with people who just do what you want.
What do you think makes a better creative motivator and muse: collaboration, fear, competition? A combination of these?
All images used with permission from Rankin.
