Perhaps you’ve seen the photo of the Neon Museum’s La Concha lobby transformed into Marilyn Monroe’s famous flying skirt. Or the High Roller, reimagined as a bass drum. Or the New York-New York’s Statue of Liberty, now a strongwoman, hoisting a barbell high above her head.
If you haven’t, you should. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently invited London-based artist Rich McCor (Instagram/paperboyo) to play in the city, and transform our wacky landmarks into art.
McCor uses paper cut-outs and a camera to turn everyday architecture into clever props. Through his eyes, the Stratosphere becomes a butterfly; the MGM Grand’s golden lion, a kitten batting at yarn. That Roman sculpture outside Caesars Palace? Just another tourist with a selfie stick.
“It’s a perfect destination for my style of photography—the entire Strip is filled with quirky architecture, colorful sights and extravagant features,” McCor writes in an email. “It’s the perfect playground for any Instagrammer.”
McCor says when he started photographing cut-outs, he would develop the ideas on the spot and cut them out then and there. Now he researches and designs from home, which allows for better concepts and more intricate silhouettes. The downside is that duds are inevitable.
“That happened with an idea I had with the Wynn and Encore,” he says. “It was a cool idea but in reality just looked a bit rubbish, so instead of posting it on my Instagram it went into a folder called ‘failed ideas’ on my desktop, alongside other photos from around the world.”
We’d love to peek into that folder, but regardless … we adore those that made the cut.
