"Mom and Pop Art" is the nineteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. It was first aired on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

in the United States on April 11, 1999. In this episode, Homer inadvertently becomes a well-praised

outsider artist Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates e ...

after his failed attempts to build a

barbecue pit In the United States, barbecue refers to a technique of cooking meat outdoors over a fire; often this is called pit barbecue, and the facility for cooking it is the barbecue pit. This form of cooking adds a distinctive smoky taste to the meat; ...

. His exhibit goes to the Louvre, and after

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

buys his artwork, Homer becomes a success. However, after his new art appears in the "Art in America" show, Homer's artwork is criticized for being too repetitive of his first piece. After his recent failure, Homer tries to devise something groundbreaking, after hearing of

Christo Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific art, site-specific environmental art, environmental art i ...

's art. "Mom and Pop Art" was directed by

Steven Dean Moore Steven Dean Moore is an American animation director. His credits include 65 episodes of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and several episodes of the Nickelodeon series ''Rugrats'' (1991–2004). Moore was also one of four sequence ...

and was the first episode

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

wrote after his return to ''The Simpsons'' writing staff. The plot was conceived by Jean, who was inspired by a segment about found artists on the television news magazine ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

''. The episode features contemporary artist

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

as himself, and also features Italian actress

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...

as Astrid Weller. It references several famous artworks, such as those of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

and

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the

Plot

While trying to install a

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

bungles the job by accidentally dropping parts of the barbecue into wet cement. He frantically tries to assemble the barbecue pit before the cement hardens, but only makes things worse. In the end, Homer is left with a mismatched collection of parts stuck in hardened cement, and mangles it further in a rage. He takes the results of his work back to the store he bought the kit from for a refund, which he does not receive. On the way home, Homer loses control of the wagon containing the jumbled mess of concrete and bricks, which rolls down the highway and crashes into a woman's car, wrecking it. Homer flees the scene of the accident, but the woman, artist Astrid Weller, tracks him down because she sees his handiwork as being a masterpiece of

outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates e ...

. Homer's exhibit goes to

the Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, and when

buys his work, he becomes recognized as an artist. Homer channels his rage to continue his work and befriends other pop art artists, like

. All the while, his easily-achieved fame makes

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

jealous, due to her lack of success at becoming a successful artist despite years of effort. Homer later gets a notice from Astrid Weller that his work will be in the "Art in America" show, but his new masterpieces are rejected by

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

's residents and his new "friends" for being repetitive of his first piece. Down on his luck and starved for inspiration,

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

recommends Homer visit the Springfield Art Museum. But none of the art Homer sees serves to inspire him; he feels inadequate when he sees what other artists have done, and it only worsens the situation when he takes a nap and has a

nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...

of various paintings attacking him. He goes back home, discouraged, but is soon given another suggestion by Lisa. She tells him about the artist

, causing Homer to try doing something similarly groundbreaking. He and Bart flood Springfield by opening all the

fire hydrants A fire hydrant, waterplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least ...

(having covered the sewer drains with the city's doormats, including their own) and putting snorkels in the animals of the zoo (so that they do not drown). Surprisingly, Astrid Weller and even the whole town of Springfield is impressed with Homer's work, and enjoy the newly made "Grand Canals of Springfield" along with the swimming zoo animals. As Marge and Homer kiss each other on the roof of their house, Jasper Johns comes on a boat and steals the painting Marge was working on.

Production

"Mom and Pop Art" was written by current showrunner

and directed by

. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on April 11, 1999. It was the first episode Jean wrote after returning to ''The Simpsons'' writing staff. For three years, Jean had worked with

Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series ''The Critic''. He created and wrote ...

on the fantasy sitcom '' Teen Angel'', a job that he despised. "Every other day

hat I worked on ''Teen Angel'' A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

I said 'I wish I was back at ''The Simpsons," Jean said in the DVD commentary for the episode. The idea for the episode came from a segment of the television news magazine ''

''. The segment was about found artists, who, Jean said, "take basically garbage and assemble it ..and turn it into artwork that would sell for tens of thousands of dollars." Jean thought that this profession would fit Homer.Jean, Al. (2007). Commentary for "Mom and Pop Art", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. In the episode, "Start here tomorrow 7/17/95" is written in blue paint on the Simpsons' garage door. The date refers to Scully and

Julie Thacker Julie Thacker Scully (born January 1960) is an American television writer. She has written for ''The Simpsons'', and along with her husband ''The Simpsons'' writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created ''The Pitts'' and ''Complete Savages'' ...

's anniversary, which was on July 17, 1995.Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "Mom and Pop Art", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. In the episode's setpiece, the Simpsons visit a hardware store. The segment was inspired by Jean's father, who owned a hardware store that Al Jean used to work in as a child. Later in the setpiece, Homer tries to construct a barbecue that he bought from the hardware store. The scene was also conceived by Jean, and is executive producer and former showrunner

Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, M ...

's favorite setpiece. While the designs of Homer's new art friends were not based on anybody in particular, the "German guy" was drawn to hold his cigarette in a "European way" by animation director

Jim Reardon Jim Reardon is an American animator, storyboard artist, television writer, television director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series and was cr ...

. When visiting the Springfield museum, Homer and Marge see a painting showing Akbar and Jeff, two characters from ''The Simpsons'' creator

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

's comic strip ''

Life in Hell ''Life in Hell'' is a comic strip by Matt Groening, creator of ''The Simpsons'', ''Futurama'', and ''Disenchantment'', which was published weekly from 1977 to 2012. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a gay couple. The comic covers a w ...

''. The painting's frame was also signed by Groening himself in real life.Groening, Matt. (2007). Commentary for "Mom and Pop Art", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The painting next to Groening's was drawn by Scully's friend Tom Gagnon, who is an artist. Some of the paintings in the episode's second act were also drawn by friends of Dean Moore. At one point in Homer's dream, the

Vitruvian Man The ''Vitruvian Man'' ( it, L'uomo vitruviano; ) is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to . Inspired by the writings by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two s ...

appears and attacks him. According to Groening, there were "some controversy" over whether or not the Vitruvian Man would be in nude or not, as he is in the original painting. In the episode, he is wearing a jockstrap. At the end of the episode, Springfield is flooded with water, and Marge is seen painting a picture on the Simpsons' roof. Her painting was drawn by staff animator Amy Clese, who drew it as a recreation of a painting by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

, an English Romantic painter. According to Dean Moore, the painting was "pretty difficult" to animate, as it was drawn with a lot of washes and

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradi ...

s. He added, however, that he was "very happy" with it.Dean Moore, Steven. (2007). Commentary for "Mom and Pop Art", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. "Mom and Pop Art" features American contemporary artist

as himself. His lines were recorded over the telephone, and Jean stated that it was "extremely exciting" to have him appear in the episode. The episode also features Italian actress

as Astrid. Jean stated that her performance was "terrific" and that she was "wonderful to work with", although there was one line in particular that she had difficulty performing. In a scene in the episode, Astrid introduces the audience in an art club to Homer's art. Originally, she would have said "you snorted my father's ashes", but because of Rossellini's accent, it sounded like she said "you snorted my father's ass", according to Jean. Because none of the recorded takes sounded good, the line was ultimately scrapped from the episode.

Cultural references

"Mom and Pop Art" features several references to famous works of art. In Homer's dream, Homer is lying in a similar way to the woman in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

artist

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the The Sleeping Gypsy ''The Sleeping Gypsy'' (French: ''La Bohémienne endormie'') is an 1897 oil painting by French Naïve artist Henri Rousseau (1844–1910). It is a fantastical depiction of a lion musing over a sleeping woman on a moonlit night. Rousseau first ...

'', as is the lion that licks him. After he is waken up by the lion, Homer is attacked by the

, a drawing by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

. Then Homer gets attacked by

Three Musicians ''Three Musicians'' is the title of two similar collage and oil paintings by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. They were both completed in 1921 in Fontainebleau near Paris, France, and exemplify the Synthetic Cubist style; the flat planes of color ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

in which their instruments turn into machine guns and shoot at Homer. At one point in his dream, Homer sees a clock that drips water. The scene is a reference to ''

The Persistence of Memory ''The Persistence of Memory'' (Catalan: ) is a 1931 painting by artist Salvador Dalí and one of the most recognizable works of Surrealism. First shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932, since 1934 the painting has been in the collection of the ...

'', a painting by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

artist

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

. Near the end of his dream, Homer meets American painter

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

, who throws soup cans at him. It is a reference to ''

Campbell's Soup Cans ''Campbell's Soup Cans'' (sometimes referred to as ''32 Campbell's Soup Cans'') is a Visual arts, work of art produced between November 1961 and March or April 1962 by American artist Andy Warhol. It consists of thirty-two canvases, each mea ...

'', a painting by Warhol.Meyer, George. (2007). Commentary for "Mom and Pop Art", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Also, Johns is portrayed as a

kleptomaniac Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical ...

, a person who compulsively steals objects of little to no value. It is a reference to Johns's art style, as he usually uses objects from everyday life for his artwork. In a scene in the episode, Homer channels his anger into his art. The scene is a reference to the 1959 comedy horror film ''

A Bucket of Blood ''A Bucket of Blood'' is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in West Coast beatnik culture of the late 1950s. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days and shares ...

'', in which an artist is screaming at a piece of clay to be a nose. After having flooded Springfield, Homer tells Marge that the city is "like

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, without the

black plague The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

". The line refers to the outbreak of the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

that swept through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the 14th century. In the scene, a lion can be seen swimming in the water. The notion that lions can swim is a reference to the

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

episode "

Bart the Daredevil "Bart the Daredevil" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1990. In the episode, Bart decides he wants t ...

", in which the famous daredevil Lance Murdock performs a stunt that involves swimming lions.

Reception

In its original American broadcast on April 11, 1999, "Mom and Pop Art" received an 8.5 rating, according to

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

, translating to approximately 8.5 million viewers. The episode finished in 23rd place in the ratings for the week of April 5–11, 1999, making it the fourth-most watched program on Fox that night, after a new episode of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', '' Ally McBeal'', and ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

''. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of ''The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

box set. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, George Meyer and Steven Dean Moore participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode. Following its home video release, "Mom and Pop Art" received mixed reviews from critics. Giving it a positive review, Chris Barsanti of Filmcritic.com described it as "one of the show's most gratifying ep sode". He wrote "Amidst Homer's accidental acceptance as a producer of rage-filled outsider art, the episode concocts a knowing satire—but also warm appreciation—of modern art," and added that it "includes one of the show's best cameos of all time: a kleptomaniacal Jasper Johns." Both James Plath of DVD Town and Jake MacNeill of Digital Entertainment News considered it to be one of the season's best episodes. ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' named

Milhouse Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class ...

's line "Everything's coming up Milhouse!" as one of the quotes from ''The Simpsons'' that can be used in everyday situations. The line was pitched by writer

Dan Greaney Daniel Greaney is an American television writer. He has written for ''The Simpsons'' and ''The Office''. He was hired during ''The Simpsons'' seventh season after writing the first draft of the episode "King-Size Homer", but left after season el ...

. Giving the episode a mixed review, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson described it as "pretty average." He wrote that "Mom and Pop Art" "offer more than a few elements that echo bits from earlier years". He concluded by writing that the episode "isn’t a bad program, but it lacks much inspiration". Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' wrote, "Well, Marge is justifiably upset when, as an artist herself, it is Homer who is suddenly getting the kudos for producing rubbish. It's a good gag but probably not enough to stretch out for an entire episode." However, they added that the last scenes, along with Johns's cameo, were "pure joy", even though the episode "drag in the middle".

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mom And Pop Art The Simpsons (season 10) episodes 1999 American television episodes Television episodes about floods Creative works in popular culture Parodies of paintings