Associated with the Chicago Imagists, Roger Brown was driven by deep, familial ties with the American South and his appreciation for its vernacular material culture. Early in his life, Brown began to nurture his interest in folk art and handmade, functional objects; he would remain a lifetime champion for their validity as artistic objects. As a teenager, he was also strongly influenced by the aesthetic of comics, theater architecture, interior design, Art Deco, and the Machine Age. His subjects frequently engaged with post-war American culture, and touched upon urban isolation, alienation, sexual intrigue, natural disasters, and human tragedy—frequently with a tone both political and wry. Though Brown is best known for his paintings and prints, his projects would come to include assemblage and mixed-media sculpture, theater sets, and mosaic murals.