Tom of Finland
Tom of Finland | |
---|---|
Born | Touko Valio Laaksonen 8 May 1920 Kaarina, Finland |
Died | 7 November 1991 Helsinki, Finland | (aged 71)
Known for | Erotic illustration |
Awards | Puupäähattu Prize (The Finnish Comics Society, 1990),[1] |
Signature | |
Website | www |
Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), known by the pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a
Early life
Laaksonen was born on 8 May 1920 and raised by a middle-class family in Kaarina, a town in southwestern Finland, near the city of Turku.[3] Both of his parents Suoma and Edwin Laaksonen were schoolteachers at the grammar school that served Kaarina. The family lived in the school building's attached living quarters.[4]
He went to school in Turku and in 1939, at the age of 19, he moved to Helsinki to study advertising. In his spare time he also started drawing erotic images for his own pleasure,[3] based on images of male laborers he had seen from an early age. At first he kept these drawings hidden, but then destroyed them "at least by the time I went to serve the army."[5] The country became embroiled in the Winter War with the Soviet Union, and then became formally involved in World War II, and he was conscripted in February 1940 into the Finnish Army.[3] He served as an anti-aircraft officer, holding the rank of second lieutenant.[6] He later attributed his fetishistic interest in uniformed men to encounters with men in army uniform, especially soldiers of the German Wehrmacht serving in Finland at that time. "In my drawings I have no political statements to make, no ideology. I am thinking only about the picture itself. The whole Nazi philosophy, the racism and all that, is hateful to me, but of course I drew them anyway—they had the sexiest uniforms!"[7] After the war, in 1945, he returned to studies.[3]
Laaksonen's artwork of this period compared to later works is considered more romantic and softer with "gentle-featured shapes and forms".
Career
In 1956 Laaksonen submitted drawings to the influential American magazine Physique Pictorial, which premiered the images in the 1957 Spring issue under the pseudonym Tom, as it resembled his given name Touko. In the Winter issue later that year, editor Bob Mizer coined the credit Tom of Finland.[8] One of his pieces was featured on the Spring 1957 cover, depicting two log drivers at work with a third man watching them.[3] Pulled from the Finnish mythology of lumberjacks representing strong masculinity, Laaksonen emphasized and privileged "homoerotic potentiality [...] relocating it in a gay context", a strategy repeated throughout his career.[3]
The
U.S. censorship codes (1950s–1960s)
Laaksonen's style and content in the late 1950s and early 1960s was partly influenced by the U.S. censorship codes that restricted depiction of "overt homosexual acts".
In the 1962 case of
Gay mainstream appeal (1970s–1991)
With the decriminalization of male nudity, gay pornography became more mainstream in gay cultures, and Laaksonen's work along with it. By 1973, he was publishing erotic comic books and making inroads to the mainstream art world with exhibitions. In 1973 he gave up his full-time job at the Helsinki office of advertising agency McCann. "Since then I've lived in jeans and lived on my drawings," is how he described the lifestyle transition which occurred during this period.
By the mid-1970s he was also emphasizing a photorealistic style, making aspects of the drawings appear more photographic.[16] Many of his drawings are based on photographs, but none are exact reproductions of them.[22] The photographic inspiration is used, on the one hand, to create lifelike, almost moving images, with convincing and active postures and gestures while Laaksonen exaggerates physical features and presents his ideal of masculine beauty and sexual allure, combining realism with fantasy.[22] In Daddy and the Muscle Academy – The Art, Life, and Times of Tom of Finland examples of photographs and the drawings based upon them are shown side by side.[22] Although he considered the photographs to be merely reference tools for his drawings, contemporary art students have seen them as complete works of art that stand on their own.[23]
In 1979, Laaksonen, with businessman and friend
Laaksonen developed a "wonderfully rich relationship" with
Death
Laaksonen was diagnosed with emphysema in 1988. Eventually the disease and medication caused his hands to tremble, leading him to switch media from pencil to pastel. He died in 1991 of an emphysema-induced stroke.[6]
Private life
Laaksonen's life partner was the dancer Veli “Nipa” Mäkinen with whom he shared his life for 28 years, until Mäkinen's death in 1981.[28][29]
Reception
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2023) |
During his lifetime and beyond, Laaksonen's work has drawn both admiration and disdain from different quarters of the artistic community. Laaksonen developed a friendship with gay photographer
]A controversial theme in his drawings was the erotic treatment of men in
Sheila Jeffreys offers a radical feminist critique of Laaksonen's work in her 2003 book Unpacking Queer Politics.[30]
Art critics have mixed views about Laaksonen's work. His detailed drawing technique has led to him being described as a "master with a pencil", while in contrast a reviewer for Dutch newspaper Het Parool described his work as "illustrative but without expressivity".[31]
There is considerable argument over whether his depiction of "supermen" (male characters with huge sexual organs and muscles) is facile and distasteful, or whether there is a deeper complexity in the work which plays with and subverts those stereotypes. For example, some critics have noted instances of apparent tenderness between traditionally tough, masculine characters, or playful smiles in sado-masochistic scenes.[citation needed]
Further, Laaksonen has been criticised [by whom?] for his depiction of sexual violence in the Kake cartoon, "Postal Rape" [32] in which a postal worker is sexually assaulted. This has been described [by whom?] as contributing to the normalisation of sexual violence, of which the LGBTQIA+ community is particularly at risk.[citation needed]
In either case, there remains a large constituency who admire the work on a purely utilitarian basis; as described by Rob Meijer, owner of a leathershop and art gallery in Amsterdam, "These works are not conversation pieces, they're masturbation pieces."[citation needed]
Writing for Artforum, Kevin Killian said that seeing Tom of Finland originals "produces a strong respect for his nimble, witty creation".[33] Kate Wolf writes that "Tom of Finland helped pave the way to gay liberation".[34]
Cultural impact and legacy
In 1995, Tom of Finland Clothing Company introduced a fashion line based on his works, which covers a wide array of looks besides the typified cutoff-jeans-and-jacket style of his drawings. The fashion line balances the original homoeroticism of the drawings with mainstream fashion culture, and their runway shows occur in many of the venues during the same times as other fashion companies.[citation needed]
In 2009, Laaksonen was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.[35]
Some of his original works are at the
Exhibitions
New York's
In 1999, an exhibition took place at the Institut Culturel Finlandais (
In 2011 there was a large retrospective exhibition of Laaksonen's artwork in Turku, Finland. The exhibition was one of the official events in Turku's European Capital of Culture programme.[40]
In 2012,
In 2013,
In 2015, Artists Space presented the exhibition "Tom of Finland: The Pleasure of Play" in New York City, USA.[41] The exhibition was also presented in Kunsthalle Helsinki in 2016, complemented with additional material such as photos from family albums.[42]
In 2020, as part of the 100th birthday celebrations, "Tom of Finland: Love and Liberation" at London's
Film
In 1991, Filmitakomo and
Filmmaker Wes Hurley credits Tom of Finland as an influence in his work, including his short Peter and the Wolf and his cult comedy musical Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel.[46]
Variety announced in 2013 that Finnish director Dome Karukoski was set to make a biopic of Laaksonen, entitled Tom of Finland. Helsinki-filmi produced it and secured exclusive rights. The film, released in February 2017 in Finland,[47] is the first biopic of the artist.[48]
Stamps
In September 2014 the Finnish postal service,
Videography
- Ilppo Pohjola (author): Kari Paljakka and Alvaro Pardo (producers): Daddy and the Muscle Academy: Tom of Finland. Filmitakomo & YLE, Finland 1991. (Duration of Feature: 58 Minutes. Also features frames of Laaksonen's graphic art.)
See also
- Bara (genre)
- Beefcake magazines
- Durk Dehner
- ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
Notes
- ^ "Suomen sarjakuvaseura ry - 1990: Touko Laaksonen - Tom of Finland". The Finnish Comics Society (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-27568-8
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Löfström, pp. 189.
- ^ Hooven 1993, p. 3.
- ^ Arell & Mustola, p. 15.
- ^ a b "Tom of Finland: A Short Biography". Tom of Finland Foundation. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Hooven 1993, p. 30.
- ^ Arell & Mustola, p. 31. This followed the naming conventions of the magazine. Other pseudonyms of the time were Bruce of Los Angeles and Spartan of Hollywood, for example.
- ^ a b c Löfström, p. 190.
- ^ Suárez, 1996, pp. 150.
- ^ The Celluloid Closet; Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman (1996) UPC: 043396821071.
- ^ Hooven 1993, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Suárez, 1996, pp. 152, 158.
- ^ a b Löfström, pp. 190–1.
- ^ Suárez, 1996, pp. 152, 158.; Dyer 1983
- ^ a b c d e f Löfström, pp. 191.
- ^ "FROM ADVERTISING TO GAY EROTICA: THE WORK OF TOM OF FINLAND". Tom of Finland Foundation. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Beefcake (1999); Thom Fitzgerald, writer, director, co-producer; Shandi Mitchell, co-producer; Alliance Independent Films.
- ^ Levine, Nick (24 March 2020). "The sexed-up cartoon hunks that defined gay culture". BBC.
- ISBN 0-314-02581-2; Streitmatter, Rodger and Watson, John C., "Herman Lynn Womack: Pornographer as First Amendment Pioneer," Journalism History, 28:56 (Summer 2002).
- ISBN 0-231-09998-3.
- ^ a b c Ilppo Pohjola (author): Kari Paljakka and Alvaro Pardo (producers): Daddy and the Muscle Academy: Tom of Finland: United Kingdom: Oracle Home Entertainment: 2002.
- ^ Hooven 2012, p. 134.
- ^ Dehner, Durk (15 September 2011). "The art of Etienne". Tom of Finland Foundation. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-313-33599-0
- ^ ISBN 0-8153-3354-4
- ^ Daniels, Champ (12 May 2022). ""AllTogether" | Sultan, The Hun and Victor Arimondi". Tom of Finland Foundation. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Millainen mies löytyy Tom of Finland -kuvien takaa? Touko Laaksosen sisarenpoika avasi kotialbumit HS:lle". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 5 May 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ "Nipa ja Touko Dortmundissa" (in Finnish). Finnish Postal Museum . Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
Mäkinen menehtyi kurkunpääsyöpään heinäkuussa 1981
- OCLC 49805467.
- ISBN 1-57344-191-0
- ^ "Thomas Garrod-Pullar | 'We hebben een cultuur van verkrachting gecreëerd in de homogemeenschap.'". 30 March 2023.
- ^ "Bob Mizer and Tom of Finland", Kevin Killian, Artforum International Magazine, March 2014
- ^ "Bob Mizer and Tom of Finland", Kate Wolf, Artforum International Magazine (Online), 21 November 2013
- ^ "> Inductees". Leatherhalloffame.com. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
- ^ "KANE, "DRUMMER," AND DEBLASE – Rick Storer, Leather Archives & Museum – San Francisco Leathermen's Discussion Group". Sfldg.org. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-3184-4.
- ^ Arell & Mustola, p. 187
- ^ Hooven 2012, p. 233.
- ^ "Tom of Finland | Turku 2011". Turku2011.fi. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "Tom of Finland: The Pleasure of Play". artistsspace.org.
- ^ "Tom of Finland: The Pleasure of Play". Kunsthalle Helsinki. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ Jussi-voittajat. Filmiaura ry (in Finnish).
- ^ Edinburgh International Film Festival highlights The Independent, Friday, 14 August 1992.
Seattle Film Festival: Special events Seattle Times, 7 May 1992. - ^ a b Festival Diary: Bad karma and the Big Yin: The Billy Connolly Affair and trouble and strife with The Bay City Rollers. Sheila Johnston reports from the 46th Edinburgh International Film Festival Sheila Johnston, The Independent, 21 August 1992.
- ^ Miller, Jason (26 March 2013). "3 Questions with Wes Hurley |". Central-cinema.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "That Tom of Finland Biopic Finally Has a Trailer". 20 September 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Karukoski's English-Language Debut Will Be Tom of Finland's First Authorized Biopic". Elsa Keslassy. Variety 13 September 2013
- Itella Posti. 13 April 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
"World's first homoerotic stamps produced in Finland" (audio interview). Today programme. BBC News Online - ^ "World's first homoerotic stamps produced in Finland". BBC News. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ Millstein, Seth (15 April 2014). "Finland's Homoerotic Postage Stamps Are Pretty Bold". Bustle. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ^ "Tom of Finland stamps on sale Monday; Finland's biggest seller ever". Yle Uutiset. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
References
- Arell, Berndt; Mustola, Kati (2006). Tom of Finland: Ennennäkemätöntä – Unforeseen. Like. ISBN 952-471-843-X.
- Hooven, F. Valentine (1993). Tom of Finland: His Life and Times. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09325-X.
- Hooven, F. Valentine III (2012). Tom of Finland: Life and Work of a Gay Hero. Berlin: ISBN 978-3-86787-166-2.
- Löfström, Jan (1998), "Scandinavian homosexualities: essays on gay and lesbian studies", Journal of homosexuality, vol. 35, no. 3–4, Routledge, pp. 189–206, ISBN 0-7890-0508-5
- Ramakers, Mischa. Dirty Pictures: Tom of Finland, Masculinity and Homosexuality. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001. ISBN 0-312-20526-0
- Suárez, Juan A. (1996). Bike Boys, Drag Queens, and Superstars: Avant-Garde, Mass Culture, and Gay Identities in the 1960s Underground Cinema. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-32971-X.
- Tom of Finland: The Art of Pleasure. Mischa Ramakers, ed. London: Taschen, 1998, ISBN 3-8228-8598-3
- Tom of Finland: The Comic Collection. Vol. 1–5. Dian Hanson, ed. London: Taschen, 2005. ISBN 978-3-8228-3849-5
- Needham, Alex (1 August 2017). "World of leather: how Tom of Finland created a legendary gay aesthetic". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
Further reading
- Kalin, Kaj (1990). "Tom of Finland". Image (Interview) (in Finnish). No. 3. Helsinki. pp. 104–119.
External links
- Media related to Tom of Finland at Wikimedia Commons
- Grave of Touko Laaksonen
- Tom of Finland Foundation