J'exige plus de nez ! Un essai visuel sur l'artiste Elliot Petenbrink

I have a rule: I only write LOL, if I have in fact L’ed OL. 

When messaging a friend about Elliot Petenbrink’s work, I need to reflect the protracted and undignified cackles I let out, texting:

LOLOLOL

“No matter the medium, the creator, or the viewer, it’s perception that makes the art. Mine just happens to be a little bit askew.”

To be at an odd angle is to survive the landscape, and Petenbrink’s survival skills are clearly evident throughout his bodies of work. Borrowing from the absurdity of found objects against their backdrops, or from the awkwardness of human interaction, his photographs carry the aesthetic of a 90’s slideshow of a family vacation–if you remove the family and leave in all the photos of other tourists, or colorful typology of a gardening essential.

Of this ground-watering series More Hose, Petenbrink writes: 

“My tribute to the humble hose, poised to claim its rightful place in the pantheon of art. Who needs marble statues or oil paintings when a hose in its natural habitat can distill the very essence of art itself? It’s not just a simple object; it’s a conduit for expression, a medium that speaks in versatility. For me it’s about the hunt, is it a hose…or is it a snake? I’m like the Steve Irwin of garden hoses.”

In questioning the value placed on aesthetics; what mundane objects we arbitrarily elevate, and have trained ourselves to capture. Petenbrink has made a joke that only gets funnier the more often it’s repeated, only to shake it up (see not a hose). 

Petenbrink’s snapshots are frequently paired as narrative or non-sequiturs; one of the quirks of prolific photographers is their ability to recognize patterns within the shapes, colors and forms of their images, finding direct connection or weird ties between disparate scenes. Here they function as setup and punchline.

Jokes aside, there’s also beauty to be found from these off-kilter images; color and composition give his works an exuberant, commercial vibrancy, while the use of flash–often to overexposed effect, emphasizes the quickness of Petenbrink’s wit. An improv-like timing of his snap reactions to spectacle and spectators, and Irwin-instincts in hunting.

“Yellowstone–A mosh pit of wildlife, children, and tourists, all colliding in a dance of predictability. From a herd of semi-domesticated buffalo to the theatrics of Old Faithful, erupting on cue like a seasoned Broadway performer. Yellowstone is a living, breathing masterpiece of organized mayhem, a playlist of nature’s greatest hits.”

Petenbrink’s website is also fantastically funny, from loud orange background and UNDER CONSTRUCTION, to the details (just try to right-click)

Websites can be a place of ultimate control for an artist. A way to immediately connect with an audience, to format (sorry) and sequence your work the way you intend it to be seen. It was so exciting to read that Petenbrink recognizes the special thing he has created with his site; 

“I’ve found that digital platforms offer a freedom that print sometimes can’t match. The digital landscape is ever-evolving, fluid, and has allowed my imagination to roam without the limits and constraints of some of the more traditional routes.”

While books and exhibitions are wonderful and tangible, the logistics of these endeavors often limit their execution and reach, and a website can provide a testing ground before concretizing something into a book, and in doing so, creating a demand for it. 

(Tell him you want a book! I want a book, Elliot!)

On what’s coming next: 

“I’ve got a few things in the works–mostly bringing my hose series to the masses and experimenting with new mediums. Incorporating musical compositions into my art is next on the list, something to razzle dazzle the senses and continue my artistic evolution. 

Check out my site web for future announcements and drops.”