Shepard Fairey Guests on The Simpsons for Episode on Bart's Graffiti-Art Obsession
Forget Law & Order. It's The Simpsons that's ripped from the headlines.
Fox / obeygiant.com Shepard Fairey and Bart Simpson.
The show will ride the Art in the Streets zeitgeist that has hipsters popping into galleries and cops popping graffiti creators. The March 4 episode mocks the Banksy documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop; it's called Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart.
It will feature none other than L.A.'s street-art laureate, Shepard Fairey, along with ...
... fellow luminaries Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal, according to an announcement from Fairey today.
The guy who created the Obama 'Hope' poster and the latest Time magazine person of the year image ("The Protester," based on a photo by L.A. Weekly's own Ted Soqui), describes how street art will play out on the show:
Carmen Trutanich's worst enemeies? Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal on 'The Simpsons.'
In order to get back at his dad, Bart goes undercover as a graffiti street artist and plasters Homer's unflattering image all over Springfield. But one night, Bart and Milhouse get caught in the act by established street artists Shepard Fairey, Ron English, Kenny Scharf and Robbie Conal (guest voicing as themselves), and to Bart's surprise, they invite him to exhibit his satirical artwork in his very own gallery show. Meanwhile, a hip, new health food superstore opens in Springfield that threatens to put Apu and the Kwik-E-Mart out of business.
Fairey says the producers "were kind enough to indulge a couple of my dialogue suggestions designed to make the social commentary more pointed."
He describes being a voice on The Simpsons as an honor:
... You're being honored as a reference point in culture. But you also can't be too sensitive about that part of culture being made fun of ...There's irony that comes with something outsider becoming insider. And they do a great job of examining that.
But who will play L.A. City Attorney and notorious graffiti-hater Carmen Trutanich?
Tune in.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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