S.R. Sharp tells the story of his work

5th December 2020, 9:34 pm

 

Drawings by Tom of Finland

 

Tom of Finland was born in 1920, soon after Finnish independence. His mother was into arts and crafts, and encouraged him to draw. As he grew older, Tom started to create his own masturbatory material by sketching his homoerotic fantasies, which mostly featured blue collar workers.

In 1957, Tom started to publish his drawings, though they were deemed pornography and he was paid very little. The publishing industry was not well-regulated at the time—publishers frequently failed to return originals and Tom’s art was pirated everywhere. To preserve his work, Tom’s friend Durk Dehner offered to help him start a publishing house in the United States. Dehner soon realised the importance of archiving and preserving Tom’s work, so the two started Tom of Finland Foundation in 1984.

Many volunteers were recruited to help with the Foundation’s archive. Durk brought me on as an archivist because of my experience in studio and gallery management, though we all do many things and take up whatever needs to be done. This year, for example, the Foundation is celebrating Tom’s Centennial, so everyone works together wearing many different hats to ensure it is a success.

Today, Tom of Finland Foundation collects, documents, and preserves materials related to Tom of Finland, his life, and his work. We also manage information from artists who produce erotic art, as well as documents and ephemeral materials that reflect the history of queer male culture and movements. Our holdings give context to the creations of contemporary life, those who have lived it, and their experiences. As archivists, our job is not to assign value to the materials in our library, archives, or art collections, but to maintain them for researchers, scholars, and artists to interpret now and into the future.

 

 

“In this illustration, Sharp is shown doing archival work at his desk. The curated erotic male art on the wall behind him signifies the work Tom of Finland Foundation supports and promotes. The different shades of blue ink used in the illustration denote the minimum resources with which Tom used to sketch.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

 

 

 

 

 


About Foundation

ABOUT TOM’S FOUNDATION Who we are In 1984, the nonprofit Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF) was established by Durk Dehner and his friend Tom. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homoerotic art, the Foundation’s original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened… View Article

Published: 5th December 2020

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