Visual Culture

A recent episode of The Simpsons featured the artist John Baldessari, who voiced his own character.

Artsy Editors
Apr 2, 2018 2:00PM, via Apollo Magazine

America’s favorite cartoon family has had a few interactions with contemporary artists over the years. During the episode “Mom and Pop Art,” Homer Simpson has a dream where Andy Warhol is pelting him with soup cans, and later, he sells a work at an art fair in front of Jasper Johns, who is busy stuffing his trenchcoat with free food. “In your face, Jasper Johns!” Homer yells. Still, viewers must have been a little surprised when, during last week’s episode, there’s a flashback to Marge Simpson’s days as a reporter for The Springfield Shopper where she attempts to score an interview with John Baldessari. The West Coast conceptualist even provided his own voice for the show, says Apollo magazine. Getting to voice a character on The Simpsons is quite the honor—the show has nabbed cameos from luminaries as varied as Stephen Hawking and Michael Jackson, and even secured a guest spot from the notoriously reclusive author Thomas Pynchon.

Artsy Editors