Shepard Fairey spends so much time making 2-D work that it’s about time that someone made him 2-D, and we can’t imagine any honor greater than getting animated for The Simpsons.
The Charleston-born street artist announced on his website that he will appear on the 15th episode of the 23rd season. It’s called “Exit Though the Kwik-E-Mart,” a play off of Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop documentary, which had critics buzzing about two years ago and which featured Fairey.
In the episode, Bart (or El Barto, as he’s sometimes known) gets caught by Fairey (plus Ron English, Kenny Scharf, and Robbie Conal) as he’s spray-painting Homer’s image around Springfield. The older and wiser artists then invite Bart to join their gallery show.
“The Simpsons has been one of my favorite shows since the early ’90s,” Fairey wrote on his website, where you can see some screenshots. “When I was running my screen printing studio in Providence, R.I., my crew and I lead a Spartan existence consisting of long hours and a seven-day work week. Our only recreational indulgence ritual was to stop work early Sunday evenings to eat dinner together while watching The Simpsons.” He promises the episode will include some biting social commentary.
It airs Sun. March 4 at 8 p.m.
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