Roz Chast, illustration from “Marco Goes To School,” 2012. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ©Roz Chast. All rights reserved.
We’re excited to announce that our newest exhibition, Roz Chast: Cartoon Memoirs opens this Saturday, June 6. In addition to a fun display of Chast’s humorous cartoons for The New Yorker, the exhibition will feature the first thorough look at her award-winning graphic memoir, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? which shares the bittersweet experiences of caring for her aging parents.
Also featured in the exhibition are examples of original artwork from her many children’s books, including Too Busy Marco and Marco Goes to School. “The Marco book is totally an outgrowth of the conversations that I used to have with my kids,” recalls the artist in a video interview included in the show. Marco was this blue-streak lory that we had… a wonderful bird… and I used to think of him as a little boy in a bird costume.” Chast would amuse her children with “picture Marco” stories, describing the colorful bird in a variety of settings and costumes (including a deep-sea diving outfit).
Birds of a feather: photo of Roz Chast and her pet parrot enjoying each other’s company in their Ridgefield, CT, home, March 2015. Photo by Jeremy Clowe for Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.
Chast’s children (and the real Marco) may have left the nest, but two beautiful new parrots have taken up residence in the artist’s Ridgefield, Connecticut home, providing amusing conversation, and perhaps new inspiration for future work.
We hope you’ll flock to the Berkshires this summer to enjoy the touching humor of both Roz Chast and Norman Rockwell—part of our creative family of illustration art here at Norman Rockwell Museum.
Shop our Museum Store for a “Blast of Chast” Products