Be Street's Bootleg Bart Art Show

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending Be Street‘s opening night of their unofficial Bootleg Bart Art Show in Downtown LA. As I walked in, I was greeted by a friendly dude in a Bart Simpson mascot suit skating by. Fans and artists were decked out in their dopest Bootleg Bart gear. Directly ahead of me was a 20 foot wide canvas wall that participates were free to draw their own versions of Bart with provided sharpie markers. The brightly lit warehouse showcased some of the raddest Bart inspired pieces I’ve ever seen. From abstract psychedelic creations to politically drawn statements down to cleverly sculpted figurines, the event was sure to cover all forms of the Bootleg Bart phenomenon. The event also catered free sprinkled donuts and beer! Oh and did I mention the man himself, Matt Groening even showed up for a surprise drop in and took pictures with the fans and artists which was pretty f*cking rad.

After 26 seasons and a feature length feature film, the success of the Simpsons doesn’t need to be proved. The show is a true television monument. When you have such an influence on popular imagery, everything is possible, and that is what happened in the ’90s with the Bootleg Bart phenomenon. For Be Street’s first group show, they decided to revive this little known unofficial part of Bart’s story by inviting over 60 international artists to produce some new and exclusive pieces. Artists from all over LA put their spin on the character to include him in some weird, trashy or political situations (sometimes all three at once). This exceptional exhibition was exclusively unveiled in Los Angeles this past weekend on July 25th to 26th 2015 at HNYPT. It will also be presented at the Be Street Weeknd Paris on October 3rd and 4th 2015.