Roger Cantrell

Supposedly my first word was “Buick”. That’s what my parents told me, so I might as well believe it. I grew up in the 1950s and 60s, a time of soaring optimism, expressed in every way. Not the least of that expression came from Detroit, where the wildest dreams of the Space Age somehow ended up in mainstream America’s driveways and highways. And as far as the designers reached, they usually held it together somehow without descending into chaos. It was a lot for us little kids to take in, and it took all the energy our Twinkies and Jello could provide.

It’s hard to believe how far we have proceeded into the 21st Century. This is the “future” we yearned for, but it’s less futuristic than those dreams from so long ago. In fact, it’s become relatively boring, in many ways, not the least being our cars.

I started creating these behind-the-wheels views of past scenes in the 20th Century, learning hundreds of subtle tricks to make them come alive. For me, it’s a mission. This isn’t “nostalgia”, which to me implies a packaged view of the past, tinged by sentimentality. What interests me about the past, particularly mid-century America, is its variety and color. It’s not always beautiful, and certainly not always sentiment...

UCLA, Bachelor of Arts
UCLA, Master of Architecture

I am licensed as an architect, and have won numerous professional awards as an urban design consultant to California cities.

Virga Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA: Autumn 2016