Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System

Author: Risa Puleo (Editor), Bill Arning (Author), Elizabeth Alexander (Author), Stephen Eisenman (Author), Michel Foucault (Author), Nicole R. Fleetwood (Author), Jimmy Santiago Baca (Author), Evan Bissell (Author), Andy Campbell (Author), Melanie Crean (Author), Gean Moreno (Artist), Natalia Zuluaga (Foreword)
Publisher: Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
Year: 2019
Pages: 464
ISBN: 978-0984056651

Walls Turned Sideways accompanies the largest museum presentation to investigate the criminal justice system in the US. What is the social role and responsibility of the artist in times of political urgency? What functions can only art and artists fulfill in the political landscape? This catalog discusses the work of more than 30 artists from across the nation, with works spanning the past 40 years, who address the criminal justice system and the prison industrial complex. The book’s title derives from a quote by political activist and author Angela Davis: “Walls turned sideways are bridges.”