“Attitude” marks Tom of Finland’s 100th Birthday with special “Sex & Sexuality” issue

21st April 2020, 5:41 pm

TOM OF FINLAND (Touko Laaksonen, Finnish, 1920 – 1991), Untitled (Northmen), 1989, Color pencil on paper, © 1989-2020 Tom of Finland Foundation

To mark the historic occasion #TOMs100, we’re releasing a special commemorative edition of our upcoming “Sex & Sexuality” issue – out Thursday 23rd April – featuring the artist’s famously homoerotic work.

As official media partner to the Tom of Finland centennial, Attitude is proudly celebrating the life of the influential creative. Cliff Joannou meets Tom’s partner Durk Dehner to discuss the artist’s enduring legacy

Tom of Finland (birth name Touko Laaksonen), was born in the small south-western town of Kaarina, Finland, on 8th May 1920. His work was first printed in the US in 1957 by Physique Pictorial, a quarterly bodybuilding magazine that was popular with gay men since LGBTQ magazines were illegal at the time. It was the publication’s editor Bob Mizer that added the tag “of Finland” to Tom’s signature.

 

After his death in November 1991, Tom’s artwork maintained an underground allure and remained ever-present in queer cultural references, but the past decade has seen a huge revival in the appreciation of his talent, with his work included in major fashion collaborations, a vodka brand, homeware ranges and even a postage stamp set in his native Finland.

” I head up the winding roads to visit TOM House at 1421 Laveta Terrace, where the team at the Tom of Finland Foundation are preparing to commemorate one hundred years since Tom’s birth.”

Durk Dehner, president and cofounder of Tom of Finland Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving and continuing the artist’s legacy, was also Tom’s partner until his death in 1991. He told Attitude, “Tom of Finland Foundation’s mission is protecting, preserving, and promoting homoerotic queer art and culture. It is a perfect union to partner with the premiere homo-centric journal Attitude in furthering our mutual goals of nurturing our community.”

“This year, 2020, is a year dedicated to celebrations of pride and freedom, honouring ourselves, our communities and Tom of Finland, the artist who inspired us to simply love, and love life, through our sexualities.”

Attitude is the official media partner to the Tom of Finland centennial celebrations as the world marks 100 years since the ground-breaking artist’s birth next month (8th May).

TOM OF FINLAND Untitled, 1946, Gouache on paper, © 1946-2020 Tom of Finland Foundation “Through his art, Tom illustrated a world free of homophobia. Before the queer community had even begun to frame the complex issues around shame and how the context of a hetero-normative society continues to affect our ability to love, Tom’s work envisioned a place where lust and love between men was not just sexual and natural, but also intimate and joyful.”

Cliff Joannou, Editor-in-Chief at Attitude, said: “For years the snooty art world disregarded Tom of Finland’s talent, but the empowering vision Tom presented in the 1950s still resonates today. Tom illustrated a world free of homophobia, a place where lust and love between men was not just sexual and natural, but also intimate and joyful. It’s with great pride that Attitude can celebrate him with this very special tribute issue. Our thanks go to Durk and Sharp at Tom of Finland Foundation for asking Attitude to join them in celebrating a true gay trailblazer.”

Art doesn’t need to be political to be powerful. But it’s impossible to separate the extreme radical nature of the work of Tom of Finland with the fact that its sexual utopia is still a dream away for LGBTQ communities around the world. “He didn’t want to publicly proclaim himself as an activist, but in fact he was,” says Durk. “He was an artist that was an activist, which I think is in itself unique because most activists are verbal, political writers. But as a visual artist, he was an activist.

COMPLETE ARTICLE AVAILABLE AS DIGITAL DOWNLOAD NOW

INITIAL PRINT RUN WITH TOM COVER SOLD OUT CURRENTLY

Online exhibition Tom of Finland: 100 Years is at davidkordanskygallery.com until 12 May


“TOM OF FINLAND: 100 Years” ONLINE

14th Apr 2020 – 12th May 2020 @ All Day –             Over the course of his career, Tom’s work reflected societal changes as they appeared in fashion, commercial design, technology, and architecture. Because of the concentrated and consistent  nature of his project, the peripheral variations that creep in become telling indicators of the ways in which the world was changing […]

Published: 21st April 2020

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