TACOMA, Wash. — Aye Caramba!! For 30 years, across more than 660 episodes, The Simpsons have become America's favorite and funniest animated family.
“It's great to walk into a gallery and hear everybody laughing hysterically, which is not what you usually see in an art museum,” says curator Margaret Bullock of Tacoma Art Museum.
Thanks to Bill Heeter, a self-described “soft-core fan”, The Simpsons have come to Tacoma. His vast collection includes 100 hand drawn animation cels dating back to the yellow clan's first TV appearance on the Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
“It was probably the best time I've ever had putting an exhibition together,” laughs Bullock. “I mean we spent two and a half days going through his collection of a thousand cels from the show just laughing our heads off and quoting dialogue.
Bullock says she wants the exhibition to explain how much work goes into each show.
“The Simpsons are fully scripted like any other TV show. There are voice actors. There are all these artists involved. It’s a whole production so we wanted you to understand the process and all the components
You'll get a chance at some artistry yourself. You can draw your favorite characters on transparencies.
“Simple changes to a character expression can really show you a different emotion and move the story line along,” says Bullock.
There are plenty of things to see, including the Simpsons couch. All set up for Instagram selfies. The only thing Homer might notice missing is donuts.
“Oh, we don't allow food in the galleries,” says Bullock.
D'oh.
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