Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek, Curator of the Bizarre

Usually, you don’t want imagery in your marketing campaign to be grotesque. Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek, a photographer and director based in Vienna and Berlin, dares to contradict this. His peculiar photography style has proved successful so far, landing him both editorial and commercial projects with publications like The New York Times and WIRED magazine and brands like Carhartt WIP, Adidas, and Helmut Lang. 

Photos: Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek via doublekoek.com

Gebhart de Koekkoek is not afraid to get weird. Still, he seems to have mastered the ability to push his media to the edge of palatability, knowing just where to stop in order to retain the viewers’ attention. In a campaign he photographed for Helmut Lang Jeans in Ghana, most images are regular, highly artistic and curated editorial images. There are just a couple, however, that exude an unsettling feeling that seems to be the photographer’s signature. A horse, in flight, urinating. Two horses, with riders, with peeled back lips, as though charging into battle. 

Photos: Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek via doublekoek.com

His work for Adidas X Pleasures consists of photographs, most of which use a mannequin as a model. This mannequin is pictured doing all sorts of human actions, like sitting pantsless on a copier or falling off a bicycle. And there is a photograph of the prop with its legs bent back and over its own shoulders, like some horror movie creature. 

Photos: Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek via doublekoek.com

And yet, all of these images are captivating and intriguing. They make the viewer want to know more, and they certainly make the product the main character without beating you over the head. Weirdness and art go hand in hand, and I, personally, welcome an embrace of bizarre art in the commercial world.