TRUE to FORM

A recent exhibition of British photographer Rankin's work from the past 30 years comes to life courtesy of Leica

- JARED PAUL STERN

In equal measure elegant and provocative, dynamic and cool, creative and trend-setting—renowned British photographer Rankin’s work is multifaceted, and he has long been considered one of the most sought-after and influential photographers of our time.” Leica, the world’s most famous and prestigious camera brand, founded in Germany in 1869, knows a thing or two about iconic images; its cameras have been favored by the likes of Walker Evans, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank and Annie Leibovitz over the years, to name but a few.

Add to that list Rankin, the brilliant British photographer born in 1966 who is the subject of a recent exhibit staged at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Leica’s hometown of Wetzlar. The words at the beginning come from Leica’s homage to the one-named lensman, who selected his favorite images from the past 30 years for the landmark show; including “many iconic portraits and celebrity shots that have made it into the annals of photographic history: colorful beauty images and classic fashion spreads, as well as examples of his profoundly conceptual series.” Titled