Cousin Roger

A couple months ago, Cousin Roger (he's not my actual cousin) called me on a sunny, cool spring day to say, "I'm in town. Let's have fun." Hanging out with Cousin Roger is all about fun and it's all about spontaneity. You have to be very flexible and very open to adventures when with Roger.

It's difficult to describe Cousin Roger in a way that conveys the sublime pleasures of spending time with this philosophic peter pan. You must experience Cousin Roger to fully appreciate him. The basics: Roger lives in Brooklyn and owns a music studio called Shabby Road. He's also painted a series of pictures featuring a nameless everywoman who peers out from the canvas with "the withering gaze of disapproval." He once played a concert of the entire Beatles songbook on a ukulele.


I'd planned to see Cynthia Connolly's show - "See all Fifteen an Once" - at the Arlington Arts Center that afternoon and invited him to join me. The show consisted of a series of photographs she took in Alabama of those road sign signs with arrows pointing toward a shack that say things like: "Gas Guns & Guppies." Cynthia was hosting a southern porch party to show her work - rocking chairs, mint juleps, ham biscuits, and gooey cake. I was worried about dragging Cousin Roger to the suburbs, afraid he'd be bored and scornful (sorry, Roger, for underestimating you!). Instead, we drank, ate, socialized, and played Scrabble - he never goes anywhere without a Scrabble board! Everyone who came to the party thought we were part of the show - my first stint as a performance artist! This sort of thing happens every time I hang out with Cousin Roger.

If you're interested in Cynthia Connolly's work, you can see it at the Transformer Gallery. They are wonderful advocates of excellent emerging artists.

You should also check out the Arlington Arts Center. They do such a great job of promoting the mid-Atlantic region's best artists.