A Queer Arcana at Palm Springs Art Museum Explores Magic, Queerness, and Spirit
Curated by David Evans Frantz, the exhibition A Queer Arcana: Art, Magic, and Spirit is currently displayed at the Palm Springs Art Museum. It highlights ritualistic artworks that explore queer magical traditions. This showcase also addresses California's historical context, where gay sex was criminalized until the 1970s and magic was prohibited until 1985. Notable pieces include Steven Arnold's mandalas, Ingo Swann's Proto Adam (1988–89), and Agnes Pelton's Future (1941). Cameron's biography notes her collaborations with Kenneth Anger and a 1950s effort to eliminate her work. Other featured artists are Austin Osman Spare, Genesis P-Orridge, Candice Lin, Joseph Liatela, Nao Bustamante, and Nancy Azara. Additionally, a 36-foot rainbow flag was raised in Palm Springs during the Halloween season of 2025.
Key facts
- A Queer Arcana: Art, Magic, and Spirit is curated by David Evans Frantz at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
- California criminalized gay sex as recently as the 1970s and prohibited magic, hypnotism, and clairvoyance until 1985.
- Cameron's Dark Angel hangs between two cement columns near the physical heart of the exhibition.
- Cameron attempted to destroy her body of work in the 1950s through rituals related to grief over her husband's death.
- Austin Osman Spare's 1913 Book of Pleasure (Self-Love): The Psychology of Ecstasy is displayed in a vitrine with Genesis P-Orridge's 1980s adaptations.
- Genesis P-Orridge's Phallus Dei and P-Androgeny Sigil include a dreadlock, rubies, sexual fluids, and paint; P-Orridge died in 2020.
- The Wedding documents the July 4, 1970 ritual union of Lin Barron and Pauline Oliveros.
- A 36-foot rainbow flag was installed in Palm Springs during the 2025 Halloween season, over eight months into Donald Trump's second term, on a six-story pole.
Entities
Artists
- David Evans Frantz
- Steven Arnold
- Ingo Swann
- Agnes Pelton
- Jayne County
- Mundo Meza
- Cameron
- Kenneth Anger
- Austin Osman Spare
- Genesis P-Orridge
- Candice Lin
- Joseph Liatela
- Joan of Arc
- Nao Bustamante
- Walter Mercado
- Lin Barron
- Pauline Oliveros
- Nancy Azara
- Clarity Haynes
- James Frazer
- William Shakespeare
- Donald Trump
- Devan Shimoyama
- Hilma's Ghost
- Sharmistha Ray
- Dannielle Tegeder
- Melina Martin
- Marsden Hartley
- Hilma af Klint
- Angela Douglas
- Arthur Stewart
- Tee A. Corinne
- Naudline Pierre
- Sadeo Hasegawa
- Laura Aguilar
- Tee Corrine
- Russell FitzGerald
- Faith Wilding
Institutions
- Palm Springs Art Museum
- Steven Arnold Museum and Archives
- Los Angeles Police Department
- Transexual Action Organization
- Q+ Art Initiative
- One Archives at the USC Libraries
- New York Feminist Art Institute
- De Buck Gallery
- New Discretions
- Surface
- Q+Art
Locations
- Palm Springs
- United States
- California
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- Provincetown
- Key West
- Pacific
- Southern California
- New York
- Salem
- Massachusetts
- Mexico
- United Kingdom
- Japan