Move over Mickey Mouse, a new toon is in town.

DVC’s latest art show features the Doof, a kind of cross between Snoopy and Mickey Mouse, but with puffed cheeks and a constant smile.

“The Doof Museum of Culture and History” – said to be making its world debut here – is curated by artist Tim Sharman and features his collection of all things Doofy – from jewelry, to books, to animations, to paintings.

The Doof’s name comes from the word “doofus,” and he can be many things – a cartoon character, a form of inspiration or a subject for a work of art.

According to Sharman, the Doof made its first appearance as an animation in the 1920s. It went on to become a merchandising product and was dropped from a Daffy Duck cartoon after test audiences declared him boring. But as the Doof faded from view, artists latched onto its image and started making creations inspired it.

In fact, therein lies the show’s ingenuity. Don’t be fooled by the art credits or what looks like a museum of many different artists’ creations from a wide range of time periods.

Everything – including the history – is actually by Sharman himself.

“What would happen if he didn’t come from me?” Sharman said. “What would happen if I was just part of a whole culture that liked this thing? “

[The art is] done by me doing the work of other people through different personas. I created an image for the museum to be about, its history and the people who came in touch with it.”

By taking Medusa’s head and replacing the ends of her snake hair with Doofs, Sharman illustrates the show’s blend of humor, allusions and art (both classic and contemporary).

“I’ve laid a lot of clues from TV, movies, and literature,” Sharman said. “There’s a lot more than face value here.”

Since cutting the image of a cartoon into a piece of burnt toast isn’t something you see everyday, the Doof injects humor into conceptualism.

“It’s almost as if the humor aspect of it is a little more important than the quality of the painting,” said graphic artist John Roose. “You see the humor in it, and you have to put that aside to look at the technique and how everything is so authentically done.”

The show runs through Dec. 9 in the DVC Art Gallery. Be sure to also check out DVC students’ Doof-inspired creation on display on the art department’s bulletin board.