Monty Python art show gets silly with killer rabbits, Spam, knights who say 'Ni!'

And now for something completely different: An art show inspired by the cult British comedy troupe Monty Python.

Killer rabbits. Silly walks. Crunchy-frog-flavored candy. Dead parrots. Spam.

There was so much to draw from for the art show “Pythonesque” at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in downtown Fort Myers, says artist Danielle Branchaud.

“It’s so much absurdity,” says Branchaud, a longtime Monty Python fan who came up with the idea for the exhibit. “It’s the holy grail of comedy. There’s so much to work with.”

The 1975 King Arthur movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” inspired the most entries in the exhibit, including beloved characters such as The Knights Who Say “Ni!” and that bloodthirsty, knight-killing rabbit. But the artists were free to tap into anything else Python-related, such as the groundbreaking BBC TV series “Monty Python's Flying Circus” (1969-1974) or later movies “Life of Brian” and “The Meaning of Life.”

Branchaud has four pieces in the exhibit, including an illustration inspired by the “People are not wearing enough hats” scene in “The Meaning of Life” and a painting showing the blood-smeared rabbit from “Holy Grail” surrounded by the skeletons of its victims.

“I think I just wanted the opportunity to paint a hyper-realistic rabbit with blood on its face,” Branchaud says and laughs. “What can I say? I’m an odd creature.”

It’s all about fun and nostalgia, she says. Especially for people of a certain age who remember Monty Python fondly.

“It just feeds us,” she says about nostalgia. “It feeds our imagination and our sense of happiness, I guess. Whatever joy we can get out of life, we’ll just take it from the past. Why not? (laughs)”

There are about 28 pieces in the exhibit, says show curator Cesar Aguilera. And most of them are fun, playful and — yes — silly.

“I love it,” he says.

Aguilera hopes Monty Python fans love it, too. The exhibit is an experiment, the first in an annual group art exhibit inspired by movies and other pop-culture themes.

“It kind of opens the creativity of artists,” Aguilera says, “depending on how fanatic they are about each movie.”

“Pythonesque” opens Friday, July 1, during Art Walk.” The opening reception takes place 6-10 p.m. in the upstairs Capital Gallery.

The exhibit coincides with another group show in the main Grand Atrium gallery. “The Age of Titans” features large-scale paintings on 8-foot by 9-foot canvasses.

Both exhibits continue through July 29. Admission is $1.

For more information, call 333-1933 or visit sbdac.com.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Monty Python show opens at Fort Myers' Davis Art Center for Art Walk