The Roses is a meditation on art, aging, and the nature of listening, as well a conversation between generations and between artists. The anaglyph 3-D video is based on a section in Henry Hills' Emma's Dilemma (1997-2012). Jacobs' The Roses takes "Nervous Ken," the chapter of Hills' film in which Emma interviews Jacobs about his work, finances, and artistic goals, as a point of departure or invitation to conversation, staging an "imitation" of the scene in his studio.