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Kelleigh Bossa uses her artwork to fight injustice and give a platform to others who have been silenced. <\/p>\nBy JULIE CARLE<\/p>\n
BG Independent News<\/p>\n
Artist Norman Rockwell is known for portraying Americans as Americans chose to see themselves. His iconic magazine covers and artwork were filled with familiar details that helped to tell stories of everyday life.<\/p>\n
Kelleigh Bossa, a longtime Perrysburg photographer who has only recently discovered art beyond the lens, has a similar purpose in her latest project that she calls \u201cNot A Rockwell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelleigh Bossa uses her artwork to fight injustice and give a platform to others who have been silenced. <\/p>\n
Bossa described herself as an \u201cartistic housewife,\u201d who experienced religious abuse as a child and was forced to be quiet and not allowed to express her own feelings or ideas. Her recent work, including the \u201cNot A Rockwell\u201d series, represented her finding her voice and using her art to fight injustice and give a platform to others who have been silenced.<\/p>\n
For her \u201cNot A Rockwell\u201d series, Bossa used some of Rockwell\u2019s recognizable images to create the 17-piece collection that tells the stories of local people who identify as LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous and People of Color. The artwork is \u201ca direct response to the current political climate and dehumanizing rhetoric aimed at the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot A Rockwell\u201d is one of Bossa\u2019s three collections that will be exhibited from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday (Aug. 28) at Wick-ed Palette Studio, 151 N. Michigan Ave., Unit 227-228, Toledo. Bossa created 14 of the 17 pieces; Susan Dunn, an art colleague, added three pieces for the collection.<\/p>\n
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Two of the art pieces in Bossa\u2019s \u201cNot A Rockwell\u201d collection.<\/p>\n
The project grew rapidly from a single idea to 17 pieces in just six weeks. She first shared the idea with Alan Dow, a transgender non-binary who owns the House of Dow in Toledo. He loved the idea, agreed to participate and offered full access to his store\u2019s vintage collections to style the individuals for Bossa\u2019s artwork. The scope of the project mushroomed after he provided suggestions for other models and venues, and those models had additional ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire cast is LGBTQ or BIPOC, which is not what you generally see in Rockwell\u2019s art,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Each individual put their heart and soul into the project, and they were powerful in their own way.<\/p>\n
A transgender woman, Bobbie, was one of the original models for the concept. Bossa first saw her at an event where she was sort of hiding in the corner. \u201cAnd I am NOT the person that lets anyone hide in the corner if it looks like they don\u2019t want to be there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, she became the face of \u201cBobie the Baddie,\u201d reimagined from Rockwell\u2019s \u201cRosie the Riveter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bossa left the original dates on the artwork. The \u201cRosie the Riveter\u201dmagazine cover was from 1943, and it mentions the atrocities in Germany at the time.<\/p>\n
The \u201cBobbie the Baddie\u201d artwork mentions the American atrocities of today \u201cand instead of concentration camps, we have our own version with Alligator Alcatraz. It\u2019s so similar, it\u2019s terrifying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Another model was a gay man who described his childhood as \u201ca puppy being held down by the throat for 18 years.\u201d And there were others whose stories Bossa shared in Rockwell style for the \u201cNot A Rockwell\u201d collection.<\/p>\n
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Bossa\u2019s artwork tells stories of today\u2019s marginalized populations.<\/p>\n
Bossa was honored to give Bobbie and others a platform to be able to feel themselves and feel confident in the person they\u2019re being, in a world that tries to make them small or go away<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what makes me feel good about this,\u201d she said. Helping these people feel like they belonged was important and one of the reasons for doing the project, but she admitted there was a bigger reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cRockwell hits with a very specific demographic, and that demographic tends to follow the rhetoric that these humans don\u2019t matter, that their lives don\u2019t have value, and they shouldn\u2019t be included, or be celebrated, or even be here,\u201d Bossa explained.<\/p>\n
That is the demographic she wants to impact. She wants them to have \u201cat least one moment in their \u00a0brain that will humanize folks who aren\u2019t exactly like them.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the short time she has been promoting the Thursday night exhibition, she\u2019s seen it play out. They will see the artwork, which makes them think fondly of Rockwell\u2019s work. Once they look closer and realize it\u2019s not what they thought, their faces changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the point I live for\u2014that one connection point,\u201d Bossa said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to change their mind or be a different person after they see it, but they got that one second of thought where they loved that image and celebrated it and emotionally connected to it until they realized it wasn\u2019t somebody like them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sees that millisecond of a connection as a way \u201cto help humanize the humans who are being dehumanized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy to be the right person in the right spot at the right time to help all of these amazing humans have a platform to share who they are in a positive light and in a world where they\u2019re being forced to hide or feel like they shouldn\u2019t exist at all,\u201d Bossa said.<\/p>\n
Putting the collection together<\/p>\n
For the project, Bossa photographed individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ or BIPOC, placed them into the Rockwell background using Photoshop, and reworked the scene to make them fit, she explained.<\/p>\n
When the image was complete, she had the photograph printed on canvas. Once she received the printed canvas, she painted on it to complete the Rockwell aesthetic. \u201cIt was really cool to incorporate so many aspects of art that I\u2019ve been playing and practicing with and to put it all into one piece,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A week into the process, \u201cI realized that this has nothing to do with me anymore. I\u2019m just a conduit,\u201d she said. \u201cI had a cool idea, and I\u2019ll own that, but this project is destined to be in the world, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Art is a critical tool for fighting social injustice and humanizing marginalized people. Reinterpreting iconic American art was \u201ca uniquely effective strategy to challenge the ingrained prejudices of the specific demographic that cherishes that art,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery individual has a moral obligation to use whatever tools they possess to stand up against hate and dehumanization,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be on me, because I\u2019m going to fight with everything I have, which is not a gun, and it\u2019s not a knife. It\u2019s a paintbrush and a camera, but it\u2019s what I have and what I can fight with.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Posted by: Julie Carle<\/a> on August 26, 2025.
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