Cameron (born Marjorie Cameron in Belle Plaine, Iowa in 1922, died in Los Angeles in 1995) was one of most fascinating figures in California’s mid-century counterculture. Her paintings, drawings, writings and performances linked the heritage of Surrealism with beat culture and the occult. She participated in a creative dialogue with Wallace Berman, George Herms, Kenneth Anger and other artists who were at the center of the California art vanguard. Cameron met the rocket scientist Jack Parsons in 1946 after arriving in Pasadena following her service in the Navy. Parsons, who was the co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was a follower of the esoteric mysticism of Aleister Crowley. Their romantic and mystical bond transformed Cameron’s life and art.

The combination of Cameron’s precise line, her visionary imagery, occult practice, and charismatic personality created a singular aesthetic. Her distinctive vision and her strong feminist spirit are now inspiring a new generation of artists.

Cinderella of the Wastelands is an expanded version of the exhibition presented last year at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. It is presented in collaboration with Nicole Klagsbrun and the Cameron Parsons Foundation.

We would like to thank Scott Hobbs and the Cameron Parsons Foundation; Ordo Templi Orientis Archives, New York and William Breeze; Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip Aarons; Mickey Cartin; Beth Rudin DeWoody; Barbara Guggenheim and Bert Fields; the Andrea Leonelli Trust; Cindy Miscikowski; Marc Selwyn; Lorraine Wild; and Especially George Herms…Artist Friend, for generously lending works to the exhibition.