For those who don’t know, “Rick and Morty” is a cartoon on Adult Swim that’s vaguely a spoof on “Back to the Future’s” Doc Brown and Marty McFly. The titular mad scientist and his nervous grandson go on planet hopping and dimension jumping adventures that ultimately don’t matter in the grand scheme of things because “the universe is a little too big to care about something so small.” All the while, Rick constantly drinks any alcohol he can get his hands on. In one episode, Rick turns himself into a pickle to ditch a family therapy session.

The popular show made multiple appearances at this year’s Saranac Lake Central School District spring art show, which will be on display until May 22 weekdays until 4 p.m. at the Harrietstown Town Hall.

Pickle Rick aside, many of the pieces displays pop culture characters and allusion. Brooke Tuttle’s “Never More” won best in show and depicted the dark and bleak avian from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven.” Second place went to Sarah Shipman’s recreation of the poster for the 2017 film “It,” which was based on the Stephen King book of the same name.

One project this year had high school students recreating Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” but with well-known pop culture characters. One had Buster Baxter, the rabbit from “Arthur,” screaming his head off. Another featured Wacko Warner and the Brain from “The Animaniacs” and “Pinky and the Brain,” respectively. Another piece had a caricature of Bill Cosby with a smug grin holding a rather phallic-looking pudding pop while a woman is passed out in the corner.

Justin Duprey’s tempera painting highlights his sociopolitical stance on LGBTQ. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Pokemon, Nightmare Before Christmas, Naruto, Regular Show, Tupac, Hermoine Granger and Donald Trump were just a few other facets of pop culture that appeared in many of the art pieces.

It wasn’t all cartoons and music references, though. One section has students reflecting on current social, economic and political issues through paintings and illustrations.

Justin Duprey, grade 9, hung a piece showing his stance on equality for the LGBTQ population. A man holding a rainbow flag leans on a soapbox, and big letters around him say, “If you don’t like gay marriage, blame it on straight parents. They keep having gay children.”

Other pieces in the section dealt with gun control and firearm safety in school, which has garnered plenty of media and social attention since the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Saranac Lake High School Art teacher Valerie Patterson said it’s easy to see the students’ change in thinking over their school career.

“You start to notice how they interpret politics, relationships, music, their hopes and dreams, their fears,” she said.

A few years ago, the art show was no longer just a display for older students and started including pieces from kindergarten through grade 12. Among the more statement-heavy and intricate pieces from the high school students, there are also cute pigs and elephants made from milk jugs and vibrant owls and butterflies colored in by the younger students.

Saranac Lake Middle School art teacher Maria D’Angelo said displaying art from all the grades is what makes the show so special.

“It’s important for the public to see the amazing growth that happens across this district,” she said. “When we work in our individual rooms or only the kids in the class see it, there’s a lot lost. Our community is really rich in the arts, and I think it’s important that kids have a chance to showcase the amazing discoveries that they’re making.

“There are a lot of kids reacting to the culture around them — re-evaluating it and redesigning it. I see a lot of self-expression. As you move through the grades, you can kind of see how in elementary the spark gets lit, middle school fans it and then they find their voice as they move into the high school. Each grade level has their own strengths. I love seeing that growth and seeing kids that we knew as elementary students just blossom and grow all the way through.”