About Face: Stonewall, Revolt & New Queer Art | In-Depth Anthology Overview
In the wake of Stonewall’s thunderous roar, queer artists have refused to be silenced. Their clarion call—an irresistible blend of color, form, and radical honesty—echoes through the pages of About Face: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art, a landmark anthology now available in our shop. More than just a survey of images, this volume is an act of reclamation, a rallying cry, and a testament to the power of art to reshape our understanding of identity, history, and the very act of seeing.
A Journey Through Queer Creativity
From the bruised neon vibrancy of 1970s protest posters to the sleek digital installations of today, About Face invites you on a sweeping voyage. Within its sumptuous pages lie 350 works by over 40 LGBTQ+ artists, each piece a fragment of a larger mosaic—an intimate diary of the ongoing revolt against erasure. You’ll find the tender self-portrait of a trans woman sketching her own metamorphosis; the textured abstractions of a Black gay painter confronting both racism and homophobia; the pixelated video art of a nonbinary collective imagining new worlds. Together, these works span continents and generations, offering both a mirror and a window into lives too often hidden.
Voices That Illuminate
No mere catalog, About Face is guided by the incisive scholarship of Jonathan D. Katz, whose curatorial vision has long championed the overlooked contributions of LGBTQ+ creators. Katz’s narrative threads each artwork into a broader tapestry of struggle and joy, revealing how queer artists have transformed pain into beauty, marginalization into empowerment.
He is joined by luminaries such as Amelia Jones, whose essays trace the lineage of performance art as an embodied act of defiance; Joshua Chambers-Letson, who examines how black queer narratives challenge the very foundations of art history; and Dagmawi Woubshet, whose reflections on diaspora, sexuality, and selfhood deepen our understanding of identity as a site of perpetual negotiation.
“Queer art is not an aside—it is central to the story of art itself,” writes Katz. “It demands that we confront the limits of vision and the possibilities of radical solidarity.”
Bridging Past and Present
About Face does more than celebrate milestones—it illuminates the continuum of queer creativity. You’ll trace the ripples of the 1969 uprising through the AIDS crisis’s searing visual testimonies and into today’s digital frontier, where virtual reality becomes a canvas for exploring the body’s fluidity. Historical photographs sit alongside installations that harness cutting-edge technology, underscoring how each generation of artists builds on the courage of those who came before.
This interplay of past and present reminds us that Stonewall was not a singular moment but a spark—a challenge to take up the torch and keep its light burning. In these pages, you witness how that flame has kindled movements for trans rights, racial justice, and global solidarity, proving that art can be both a refuge and a battlefield.
Why You Can’t Miss It
-
Unparalleled Scope: With works from North America to Europe, Africa to Asia, About Face maps the global reach of queer expression.
-
Scholarly Insight: Essays and interviews provide rare behind-the-scenes access to artists’ processes and intentions.
-
Visual Feast: Lavish reproductions—many in full bleed—invite you to linger over each brushstroke, pixel, and sculpted curve.
-
Cultural Resonance: More than decoration, these works confront us with questions of belonging, resilience, and the transcendent power of community.
Whether you’re an art historian, an activist, or simply someone moved by stories of transformation, About Face offers both inspiration and provocation. It is a living archive that bears witness to triumphs and traumas alike, and in doing so, reminds us that the fight for visibility is never merely symbolic—it shapes lives.
A Call to Witness and Wonder
In the quiet of your studio, the hum of a gallery’s lights, or the glow of a tablet screen, About Face beckons you to bear witness. Let its pages stir your empathy, challenge your preconceptions, and awaken new possibilities for seeing—and being seen.
This is not just a book to read; it is a book to experience, to discuss, to pass on. It is a testament to the fact that queer art is not on the margins of history but at its very heart. By holding About Face in your hands, you join a chorus of voices insisting that the next chapter of art, and of society, will be written by those who dare to dream beyond the frame.
Embrace the revolt. Turn the page. Discover the new queer art that shapes our world—and our future.
About Face: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art is available now—add it to your collection, share its stories, and let its brilliance light the way forward.