Rather than letting a bunch of old photos slowly deteriorate and be forgotten, artist Alex Gross has painted various pop culture characters over them while still retaining the faces of the subjects in each picture. Viewers are thus treated to vintage-looking pictures of characters like Superman, Aquaman, Data from Star Trek, Magneto, Batman and much more.
Alex Gross specifically painted these highly creative works of art on cabinet cards. For those unfamiliar, cabinet cards were a universally adopted style of photography whereby a picture was mounted onto an ornate card to be carried around. Painting over these images gives Gross’ series a kind of trading card feel, and it’s quite humorous to see olden day facial hair on modern day comic book characters.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Contemporary Geek Art
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop digital platforms or apps that allow users to create their own pop culture-inspired artwork on vintage photos.
- Vintage-inspired Trading Cards
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create a line of collectible trading cards featuring vintage-looking pictures of popular fictional characters.
- Repurposing Old Photos
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create a service or platform that allows individuals to repurpose their old photos with modern elements or pop culture references.
Sectors Adopting This
- Art and Entertainment
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop a digital marketplace for artists to sell their unique pop culture-inspired artwork.
- Photography and Printing
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create a printing service that offers customers the option to print their photos on vintage-style cabinet cards.
- Collectibles and Memorabilia
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create an online marketplace for vintage-inspired trading cards, allowing collectors to buy, sell, and trade their favorite characters.
