In a review of photographer Loren Cameron’s 1996 book, “Body Alchemy,” author Kate Bornstein notes that in the past, images of transgendered figures have been captured by artists such as Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe.
“Never have the transgendered seriously photographed their own,” she said. “Not until Loren Cameron, that is.”
Cameron, the keynote speaker of this year’s InterSEXtions series, will give a slide show presentation of his work 8 p.m. Saturday in 100 Willamette. InterSEXtions is an annual event sponsored by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Educational and Support Services.
The theme of InterSEXtions 2002 is The Queer Body: An exploration of identity, culture and politics.
LGBT Director Chicora Martin said Cameron’s work fits into this theme because he uses his photographs to address issues of gender identity as well as transsexual and transgender culture.
“Part of what (Cameron) has done through his work is … explored body images and appearances around issues of gender,” she said.
Cameron said he will show 80 slides of portraits and nudes taken of transsexual men and women. Some are from “Body Alchemy,” while others are from his more recent work, he said.
Cameron, who identifies himself as transsexual, said he is able to relate to his subjects, and that is translated into his work.
“My being like the people I photograph helps to put them at ease and that, I think, is significant — and noticeable in the photographs themselves,” he said. “It’s an issue of trust.”
Cameron, who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, began identifying himself socially and sexually as a lesbian at age 16, according to his Web site. In 1987, he began his transition from female to male. He began his photography career in 1993 as he documented the process of becoming a man.
Graduate student Jo Humphreys said Cameron’s work is significant because it is an accurate, self-representation of transgender people — unlike the misleading depictions of such individuals often seen in the media.
“There’s been a lot of pictures of transgendered people in the media — many of them not very flattering and not very accurate,” Humphreys said.
Humphreys has arranged for Cameron to hold a “brown-bag” lunch discussion for interested students and community members in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Alliance from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday.
“For a lot of trans men, Loren Cameron’s work has affected them in a very personal way,” Humphreys said. “It’s given them a lot of hope and comfort.”
E-mail student activities editor Kara Cogswell at [email protected].