Pops Peterson

In 2015, Berkshire-based artist and writer Pops Peterson debuted Reinventing Rockwell, a series of artworks reimagining mid-century illustrations by Norman Rockwell in a manner reflective of today’s times. Celebrating America’s rich diversity and embracing Rockwell’s sense of humanity, Peterson has created images that envision social change and express his desire for a positive, inclusive, and just world. 
 

Launched at the High School of Music and Art in New York, Peterson’s artistic education continued at Pratt Institute and Columbia University. His writings have been published in Andy Warhol's  Interview, Essence, The Village Voice and The New York Times, and he has authored stage plays and screenplays for television and film. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination named Peterson its first Artist in Residence for which he lectures annually at the Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference. His painting, “Freedom from Shame,” inspired the Massachusetts Office on Disability’s statewide art competition, “Breaking Barriers,” which was presented in the Massachusetts State House in 2017.

 

Pops Peterson is also known for his multimedia presentations on his own artistic journey with Norman Rockwell, the arts and civil rights. He has been presented at high schools and colleges as well as such community arts institutions as The Spencertown Academy, The Foundry, and The Norman Rockwell Museum. His latest presentation, "The Making of a Protest Artist," explores the nature of protest art through history with powerful images, music and stirring anecdotes.

 

Peterson is the owner and general manager of SEVEN salon.spa in Stockbridge, MA, a business established with his husband, Mark Johnson, that is situated directly across the street from Rockwell’s former home. Freedom from What? (I Can’t Breathe) has travelled across the nation in Norman Rockwell: Reimagining Freedom. It can be seen currently at the Rockwell Museum with a dozen more works from the Reinventing Rockwell series, presented in tandem with his featured works in the "Solidarity" show at Sohn Fine Art.