The artist Marie Roberts has strong family ties to Coney Island. Her grandfather was one of the fire

The artist Marie Roberts has strong family ties to Coney Island. Her grandfather was one of the firefighters that battled the blaze that destroyed Dreamland in 1911. Her uncle worked for the Dreamland Circus Sideshow in the 1920s while her father was the chauffeur for Zip—What Is It?, a well-known sideshow performer. Roberts remains deeply connected to the history and culture of Coney Island. In 1997, she began painting banners for the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, a revival of the traditional ten-acts-for-one-price performance. This banner’s title, A Congress of Curious Peoples, was taken from one of the shows for the Dreamland Circus Sideshow.On the left, Roberts pays homage to the past. Her uncle, Lester Roberts, raises his arm toward the cast, which includes Lionel the Lion-Faced Man (Stephan Bibrowski), the German-born, well-educated conversationalist and gymnast who had been trained as a dentist; Baron Paucci (Peppino Magro), the Sicilian-born womanizer billed as the “World’s Smallest Perfect Man;” Prince Randian (whose birth name is unknown), a British Guiana-born performer with tetra-amelia syndrome known for his ability to roll and light cigarettes with his lips; Zip—What Is it? (William Henry Johnson), an African American with a tapering cranium;  and Violetta (Aloisia Wagner), a German-born woman billed as the “Beautiful Armless and Legless Venus.”On the right, the artist celebrates the present. Dick Zigun, the unofficial mayor of Coney Island and impresario of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, gestures toward today’s performers: Pain, who pounds nails into his nose; a performer sitting on a bed of nails; a fire-eater based on Insectavora; a sword-swallower (Heather Holliday and the tattoo-covered Eak the Geek (Eduardo Arrocha).Posted by Connie H. ChoiMarie Roberts (American, born 1954). A Congress of Curious Peoples, 2005. Collection of Liz and Marc Hartzman -- source link

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