Unpacking “Reality and Fantasy” in The Drawing Room

3rd February 2021, 12:45 pm

In this installment of the “TOM House Tours” series on Patreon, we peek behind the velvet curtain at the archives. Marc Ransdell-Bellenger, Curator and Community Development for Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF), guides us through the return of Tom of Finland works from Japan: the pieces that comprised the Reality & Fantasy show that was held in both Tokyo and Osaka and in 2020. 

On the tour, we are joined by ToFF President and Cofounder Durk Dehner, as well as ToFF Creative Director Richie Villani. Marc shares his own story of how he came to be a curator at TOM House, as well as details of his archival work. He recounts how he first encountered Tom’s work, being able to work with it in subsequent years after becoming a volunteer and then an employee of ToFF. Marc’s story highlights the life-changing moments sparked by Tom’s art, a relationship with Tom of Finland and his work that is shared by many creatives.  

In one highlight from the video, Durk and Marc describe some very early Tom gouache drawings from the 1940s, which emphasized uniform culture, while showing only hints of the leather and boots that would come to the forefront later in Tom’s work. These pieces were some of the first that Tom brought from Finland to Los Angeles to become part of the TOM House collections.

The TOM House archives are a very special experience, for both those who work there as well as those who get to visit. We are excited to share it with you. Join us at the Hook-Up Date tier or higher to watch the full video. 

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Fantasy becomes reality – 3D tour of exhibition

心斎橋Parcoで12月7日まで開催中のフィンランド出身アーティストでゲイ・カルチャーのアイコン的存在として知られる #トムオブフィンランド 作品展。現地に行けない人も、もう一度見たい人も、オンラインで中の様子が見られるよ。下をクリックしてね！#TOMs100 #TOMofFINLANDhttps://t.co/W5NhX7Kngz — 駐日フィンランド大使館 (@FinEmbTokyo) November 23, 2020  

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Published: 3rd February 2021

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