Loren Rex Cameron, August 28, 1959 - November 18, 2022, was a pathmaking photographer, author and transgender activist. His work is credited by many for its influence in bringing attention to the social and embodied realities of transsexual people, including portraits and self-portraits along with the personal transition stories of those he photographed, particularly with his book Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits (Cleis Press, 1996). Cameron was a pivotal organizer in the FTM community in the San Francisco Bay Area and designed the banner the FTM group and allies first marched with at a 1994 Pride march. Later in his life, he was more solitary. Still, his impact on the transgender community cannot be understated. Most recently a growing interest in his work has further illustrated the importance of his contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community. Selections of his work in On Our Backs magazine, and from his first exhibition Our Vision, Our Voices: Transsexual Portraits and Nudes is on view at Leslie-Lohman inside Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s. His entire collection of books and private papers are archived at Cornell University in the Kroch Library.
On Sunday, July 9 SF Camerawork, in collaboration with Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art will host an in person tribute event dedicated to the late artist in which close community members will pay homage to his life and art. The event will be hybrid so that members of both the Bay Area LGBTQIA+ community, and wider community can participate.
On Saturday, July 15, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art will host a second in-person follow-up tribute event dedicated to the late artist in which artists and scholars will pay homage to the personal impacts of his life and art. The event will be hybrid so that members of both the NYC LGBTQIA+ community, and wider community can participate.