Tom of Fland review – trigug bpic of a gay liberatn hero | Bpics | The Guardian

Contents:

• THERE'S A GAY PORNO STASHED IN YOUR WARDROBE: THE HISTORY BEHD PRI 2020'S BT COLLAB
• TOM OF FLAND EXHIB CELEBRAT NORDIC COUNTRY'S GAY IN
• TOM OF FLAND: FROM GAY IN TO MASTREAM SENSATN
• 'UNASHAMEDLY GAY': TOM OF FLAND'S BULGG BEEFKE DRAWGS UNVEILED LONDON
• TOM OF FINLAND – THE OFFICIAL LIFE AND WORK OF A GAY HERO
• TOM OF FLAND REVIEW – TRIGUG BPIC OF A GAY LIBERATN HERO
• TOM OF FLAND EXHIB CELEBRAT NORDIC UNTRY'S GAY IN

THERE'S A GAY PORNO STASHED IN YOUR WARDROBE: THE HISTORY BEHD PRI 2020'S BT COLLAB

In 2013, the artist’s work was clud a two-person exhibn wh the gay erotic art trailblazer — and, as happens, the origator of Laaksonen’s famo psdonym — Bob Mizer at the Mm of Contemporary Art, Los Angel. Even Laaksonen’s home untry and namake, which homosexualy was crimalized until 1971, has e around to the artist’s importance: In 2014, ma a seri of stamps honorg Tom of Fland, and a succsful 2017 bpic was produced the by Brian Forrt.

TOM OF FLAND EXHIB CELEBRAT NORDIC COUNTRY'S GAY IN

In the early 1960s, the pneerg, boundary-phg gay artist Robert Mapplethorpe, acrdg to Patti Smh, disvered Tom of Fland’s work a ed bookstall Tim Square. ”T talked to a wi range of artists about Tom of Fland’s fluence for what would have been his 100th by Anrs Sune Berg Elmgreen & Dragset, Berl-based artist duoTom of Fland’s art is unabashedly gay and celebratory of a subculture and sexual ruals that were nsired perverse when his drawgs first appeared public. And I thk, siarly, perhaps when Tom of Fland was fg this inic style, he really took ownership over his fn of what was to be a homosexual, which was perhaps, at that time, a term that was viewed as weak or rogatory.

Tom of Fland’s ft pencil work and the immediate eroticism are enough to make any young gay boy a quick fan, but after a of lookg at his drawgs, I unrstand that his work transcends pornography and occupi a space of queer spirualy. I me for the giant phall and stayed for the joy of beg a gay person.

TOM OF FLAND: FROM GAY IN TO MASTREAM SENSATN

Tom’s drawgs are unapologetilly happy and have not a shred of shame them — an credible rary any pictn of homosexualy, even now. Tom had the fortu of spir to celebrate men at play at a time when most of the world nsired gay people to be an abomatn.

Tom had such an abundance of radil self-acceptance that his work ntu to impart the spir of self-love onto gay men everywhere. -based wrer and artistWe kd of take Tom of Fland for granted, bee, let’s be hont, as gay men, do we really need any more imag of super mcular whe dus?

'UNASHAMEDLY GAY': TOM OF FLAND'S BULGG BEEFKE DRAWGS UNVEILED LONDON

Before Tom, the homosexual stereotype was a narrowly limed negative one. In his heroic homoerotic drawgs – starrg hyper-mascule hunks, clad uniforms or leather gear, all bulgg mcl and members – he fearlsly nonted a system that nied eedom, legaly, and basic rights to the gay muny. Among the photographs are portras of iends and partners – cludg those Tom of Fland and Robert Mapplethorpe took of each other – that were nfed to his home stud and darkroom for years, wh much of the rrponnce between the artist and his subjects stroyed due to the illegaly of homosexualy at the time.

Tom of Fland Permanent Collectn(Image cred: Marko MacPherson)‘Beg aware of what society had nied homosexuals, Tom went about creatg the archetype of mascule homosexuals who participate eely together sex – a cree om Nature herself, says Durk Dehner, print and -founr of the Tom of Fland Foundatn, created 1984.

The gay man who created art that helped shape queer inty and sire. Tom of Fland is the psdonym of artist Too Laaksonen – an erotic illtrator om of Fland’s work as an artist was stmental shapg 20th-century gay culture – his impact is still beg felt today. Laaksonen viewed his homosexualy as a non-issue, and wanted to normalise for everyone else his muny at a time when beg gay was lerally a crime.

TOM OF FINLAND – THE OFFICIAL LIFE AND WORK OF A GAY HERO

“In those days, a gay man was ma to feel nothg but shame about his feelgs and his sexualy. I wanted my drawgs to unteract that, to show gay men beg happy and posive about who they were…” Tom explaed, before he died 1991 om an emphysema-duced stroke. ”The men drawn by Tom of Fland were pretty much the first sex-posive morn art figur pictg gay men – strappg beefk, wh bulgg mcl, big boots, a visor hat and leather, or a mixture of civilian cloth uniforms – everythg about them is big and unapologetilly 1973, Laaksonen had given up his job advertisg so that he uld vote himself to his art landmark 1962 Supreme Court se MANual Enterpris, Inc.

At the vatn of Durk Dehner, a gay bsman, film director and publisher. For Laaksonen is more famo by his pen name, a psdonym that me to fe several strands of gay culture before paddlg the mastream: Tom Of recently, was Brish signer JW Anrson's turn to re-home Fland's landmark work to a limed edn llectn to ci wh Pri (another ever-important event placed on ice by Covid-19), and a very important birthday (Tom would've been 100 this year).

TOM OF FLAND REVIEW – TRIGUG BPIC OF A GAY LIBERATN HERO

The are piec plucked om the rnal g when Pri began as a rt rponse to police raids of the gay-iendly Stonewall Inn. "Even as nversatns about sexualy and homosexualy were expandg the prs, gay materials only circulated on the g the mid-twentieth century.

Most mastream discsn of homosexualy prented men as perverts or crimals; at bt, they were sad victims, " says Dr Jt Bengry, a history lecturer at London's Goldsmhs, and urse nvenor of the universy's Queer History MA programme. "Men who wanted to fd gay materials uld do so pulp novels and unr-the-unter magaz, but none of this was mastream.

However, the kds of physique magaz where Tom Of Fland's art was published had a wi distributn among gay men, surpassg by far the reach of activist publitns. JW Anrson’s Tom Of Fland keyrg (left) and CDLP x Tom Of Fland Tanga BriefTom Of Fland Foundatn, CDLPWhat's more, Tom Of Fland's klg for the hyper-mascule helped shape gay men's perceptns of self, and those around them. "The image of gay men that domated mastream reprentatn at this time was the 'pansy' or the 'sissy', " says Bengry.

TOM OF FLAND EXHIB CELEBRAT NORDIC UNTRY'S GAY IN

Tom Of Fland's art showed that men who sired other men uld be mascule, virile, and powerful – a rponse to a culture that so often told gay men they uld never be 'real men'.