Legendary queer artist Tom of Finland’s house nurtures gay artists

25th June 2021, 5:34 pm

 

WATCH PREVIEW

The late Finnish artist Tom of Finland produced thousands of illustrations featuring men wearing tight or partially removed clothing. His work has inspired artists and influenced gay culture for over six decades. Tom’s legacy lives on at Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles.

“When Tom first started creating a lot of these images, back in the ’50s, there was a certain idea of what the homosexual male was,” said Jamison Karon, a former artist-in-residence at TOM House. “For him to create these super athletic, beautiful, exaggerated figures was like having our own gay little superheroes. We could see ourselves in those images and feel strong and beautiful.”

“TOM House has been incredibly generous to me and to other emerging artists, especially in L.A., where it’s a very tough landscape to navigate,” said performance artist Marval A. Rex.

“The invitation for the Foundation to start here came from Durk Dehner. Durk saw the power that Tom had and how he affected so many other people,” said S.R. Sharp, VP & Curator of Tom of Finland Foundation. “We started with emerging erotic artist contests. We’ve had art fairs every year. So we’re always working on building the community of artists.”

Through its artist residency program and events, the Foundation exposes artists to archives of Tom’s work, while attempting to preserve, promote and elevate erotic art.

Tune in Sunday 27th June at 6:30p PST to ABC 7 and see the live airing of this special.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

 

 

 

 

 


“TOM OF FINLAND: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero” releases

  Avant-garde, provocative, subversive and rebellious – Tom of Finland stamped history with his recognizable artistic style. A virtuoso of drawing, he fashioned the silhouette of a new Gay man – strong, confident, joyful and assertive – fully participating in the visibility and recognition of the nascent Homosexual movement. With text authorized by the artist… View Article


#Pride2021 🏳️‍🌈 📝

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR SEE OUR CALENDAR FOR ALL JUNE EVENTS #Turku was the first #Finnish city to paint a protective road in the colors of a 🌈 This is very sad news.Explain how this happened to us.@cityofturku @TKteatteri @VisitTurku @turkupride @seta_ry #Pride2021 cc @WeHoCity @thisisFINLAND@yleturkuhttps://t.co/chDAd7paEs — Tom of Finland (@TomsFoundation) June 10, 2021 View… View Article

Published: 25th June 2021

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