Starz is not holding back with their promotional materials for the upcoming American Gods. The series based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman is coming April 30 and they’ve wasted no time in making a statement. Yesterday, we got striking portraits of the characters: today, we have symbolic images that grab the beating heart at the center of the story. Starz has taken classic art and added technology. Whether the tech enhances or ruins the original piece is subjective, but that also gets to the core of American Gods.
Mashable shared the first look at this campaign, and I’m floored by how effectively it hits the nail on the head. You can distill American Gods to this: the Old Gods vs. the New Gods. I’m skipping over a whole hell of a lot of nuance, but we’re going to focus on that essence. The Old Gods were brought to America by the immigrants who believed in them, but over time, the Old Gods have being left behind because people now believe in objects and things, a.k.a. New Gods. They’re hooked on technology. I mean, look at how many of us are glued to screens for most of our days.The new is creeping its way into the old. And no, it’s not coming in to make a happy home side-by-side with the old. The new is taking over and erasing what was there before, claiming total ownership.
So, with all that in mind look at these altered pieces of art:
American Gothic by Grant Wood
This one in particular speaks to me because I see it every time I’m at a restaurant:
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper
Cousin Reginald Plays Tickly Bender by Norman Rockwell
Will anyone else have these images in mind next time they pick up their mobile device?
Let’s play a game. Pick a piece of classic art and tell us what tech additions you’d make. I know, it sounds like homework, but it will be fun. Share your concepts in the comments or hit us up on Twitter at @nerdist. Bonus points if you make a photo manipulation demonstrating your idea.
Images: Starz
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