We love you BoJack!
BoJack Horseman is the best show on Netflix right now and season 2 is out and everyone should go home and watch it immediately. The mostly funny, sometimes #tooreal cartoon centers around a cynical, washed up celebrity with a serious drinking problem and questionable moral compass. He’s a sad lonely trainwreck…
…with whom you can sometimes relate.
It makes fun of the circus of Hollywood celebrity, or rather, the absurdity of contemporary culture in general. But like any high-minded show, there are hella art references! And the best thing about re-binge-watching BoJack (I’ve seen the first season more times than I’d care to admit) is finding the hidden jokes in the background.
Well, that and the fact that half of the characters are animals.
You’re clever, BoJack animators. Let’s see if Sartle can keep up.
Here’s a painting in BoJack’s office that he brags about early on in the first season:
“As you can see, all the teeny tiny brush strokes means it’s very expensive. Uh- the colors, this one here, they don’t even have a name for it.”
It’s based off this David Hockney painting:
[David Hockney. Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972.]
A flashback to BoJacks pad in the ‘90s features an awesome equestrian homage to Keith Haring:
Haring drew dancing people, of course.
[Keith Haring. Crack is Wack, 1986]
OK, and snakes.
We liked how these Matisse figures were replaced by animals, too:
Bonus points for “A Lemur Was Here” graffiti.
Human version:
[Henri Matisse. Dance (II), 1932]
There’s a zoological nod to Shepard Fairey’s infamous Obey poster…
…made infinitely better with this pun:
Get it? ‘Cause his name is Shepard? Lawlz.
And a fan caught on and graced us with this version of Fairey’s iconic, brutally overused “Hope” poster:
This scene features what may be my favorite riff ever…
Shark Olympia!!! The world has come so far…
[ Édouard Manet . Olympia, 1863.]
Badass Olympia would totally be a shark.
We didn’t miss that Last Supper reference either:
[ Leonardo da Vinci. The Last Supper, 1495-1498.]
I think the crockpot is Jesus. And these references are getting deep.
Character Herb’s got three Basquiat-esque (that’s a word now) paintings in his office:
The late artist’s style is pretty unmistakable:
[Jean-Michel Basquiat. Six Crimee, 1982.]
Like all great art snobs, they even got a dig in at Thomas Kinkade!
Notice the hilarious wall text.
In the art history mindset now, as I often am, I started seeing art references that may not even be there!
Does this portrait of BoJack’s parents and him look like an estranged version of this:
[ Frida Kahlo. The Two Fridas, 1939.]
Or am I just losing my mind because I’ve been watching television for 8 straight hours?
And Bojack’s bedroom horseshoes gotta be a love letter to Warhol…right?
I mean, he loved shoes!
[Andy Warhol. Diamond Dust Shoes (Random), 1980.]
I don’t even know anymore.
But first, I’ll leave you with this:
By: Angelica Jardini
Sr. Editor