About Face: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art

A bold, necessary, and visually arresting survey of queer artistic expression over the last fifty years, About Face: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art reframes the cultural legacy of the Stonewall Riots and traces the radical evolution of LGBTQ+ aesthetics across generations and geographies.

Written and curated by art historian Jonathan D. Katz, this landmark publication brings together more than 350 artworks by over 40 LGBTQ+ artists, many of whom have been historically underrecognised or excluded from the traditional canon. Rather than treating Stonewall as a beginning point, Katz explores how queerness has always been embedded within artistic production — sometimes overtly, often subversively.

Originally developed in conjunction with the exhibition at Wrightwood 659 in 2019, About Face functions both as an exhibition archive and an expansive scholarly study. It is as intellectually rigorous as it is visually sumptuous.

The book includes critical texts by leading thinkers including Amelia Jones, Joshua Chambers-Letson, Dagmawi Woubshet, alongside contributions from Julian Carter, Anthony Cianciolo, Ava L.J. Kim, Christopher Reed, and Jacolby Satterwhite.

Across its pages, themes of:
– Resistance and revolt
– Gender fluidity and identity construction
– Intersectionality
– Desire and visibility
– Community and transformation

are explored with depth and urgency.

Winner of the IGA Best Book Design Award 2024, this volume has been widely praised as essential reading for students of art history, queer studies, and contemporary culture.

Critical Acclaim

‘About Face should be in every queer library.’ – Gay45

‘The scholarship is deep… the artworks are sumptuous, thrilling.’ – Book Page

‘Demonstrates the transformative power of queer art.’ – Dazed

‘Brings a deeper understanding of the canon.’ – The Art Newspaper

‘Five decades of exuberance, defiance, solidarity, heartbreak and metamorphosis.’ – The New York Times

Product Details

* Publisher: Monacelli Press
* Format: Hardback
* Dimensions: 292 × 242 mm
* Pages: 272
* Illustrations: 300
* ISBN: 9781580936286

Why We Recommend It

For collectors building a serious art library, for readers invested in queer history and cultural discourse, and for anyone interested in how visual language reshapes identity, About Face is not simply a book it is documentation, resistance, and celebration bound together.

An essential addition to any contemporary cultural collection.