Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

artist who made stylized highly masculinized

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

art, and influenced late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W. Slade.Slade, Joseph W.
Pornography and Sexual Representation: A Reference Guide, Volume 2.
Pp. 545–546. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. Over the course of four decades, he produced some 3,500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and secondary sex traits, wearing tight or partially removed clothing.

Early life

Laaksonen was born on 8 May 1920 and raised by a middle-class family in

Kaarina Kaarina (; sv, S:t Karins, i.e. " Saint Catherine's") is a small town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region and is a neighbouring town of Turku, which is the capital of Southwest Finland, therefore Kaarina ...

, a town in southwestern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, near the city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

.Löfström, pp. 189. 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. He went to school in Turku and in 1939, at the age of 19, he moved to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

to study advertising. In his spare time he also started drawing erotic images for his own pleasure, 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." The country became embroiled in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

with the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, and then became formally involved in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and he was conscripted in February 1940 into the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

. He served as an anti-aircraft officer, holding the rank of second lieutenant. He later attributed his fetishistic interest in uniformed men to encounters with men in army uniform, especially soldiers of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

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 Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

philosophy, the racism and all that, is hateful to me, but of course I drew them anyway—they had the sexiest uniforms!"Hooven 1993, p. 30. After the war, in 1945, he returned to studies. Laaksonen's artwork of this period compared to later works is considered more romantic and softer with "gentle-featured shapes and forms". The men featured were middle-class, as opposed to the sailors, bikers, lumberjacks, construction workers, and other members of stereotypically hypermasculine working class groups that feature in his later work. Another key difference is the lack of dramatic compositions, self-assertive poses, muscular bodies and "detached exotic settings" that his later work embodied.

Career

In 1956 Laaksonen submitted drawings to the influential American magazine ''

Physique Pictorial ''Physique Pictorial'' is an American magazine, one of the leading beefcake magazines of the mid-20th century. During its run from 1951 to 1990 as a quarterly publication, it exemplified the use of bodybuilding culture and classical art figure pos ...

'', 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 Robert Henry Mizer (March 27, 1922 – May 12, 1992) was an American photographer and filmmaker, known for pushing boundaries of depicting male homoerotic content with his work in the mid 20th century. Biography Bob Mizer's earliest photographs ...

coined the credit ''Tom of Finland''. One of his pieces was featured on the Spring 1957 cover, depicting two log drivers at work with a third man watching them. Pulled from the Finnish mythology of lumberjacks representing strong masculinity, Laaksonen emphasized and privileged "

potentiality ..relocating it in a gay context", a strategy repeated throughout his career. The post-World War II era saw the rise of the biker culture as rejecting "the reorganization and normalization of life after the war, with its conformist, settled lifestyle."Löfström, p. 190. Biker subculture was both marginal and oppositional and provided postwar gay men with a stylized masculinity that included rebelliousness and danger. This was in contrast to the then-prevailing stereotypes of gay man as an effeminate

sissy ''Sissy'' (derived from ''sister''), also ''sissy baby'', ''sissy boy'', ''sissy man'', ''sissy pants'', etc., is a pejorative term for a boy or man who does not demonstrate masculine, and shows possible signs of fragility. Generally, ''sissy'' i ...

, as seen in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and films going back to the first years of the industry. Laaksonen was influenced by images of bikers as well as artwork of

George Quaintance George Quaintance (June 3, 1902 – November 8, 1957) was an American artist, famous for his "idealized, strongly homoerotic" depictions of men in mid-20th-century physique magazines.Etienne, among others, that he cited as his precursors, "disseminated to gay readership through homoerotic physique magazines" starting in 1950. Laaksonen's drawings of bikers and leathermen capitalized on the leather and denim outfits which differentiated those men from mainstream culture and suggested they were untamed, physical, and self-empowered.Löfström, pp. 190–1. This in contrast with the mainstream, medical and psychological sad and sensitive young gay man who is passive. Laaksonen's drawings of this time "can be seen as consolidating an array of factors, styles and discourses already existing in the 1950s gay subcultures," this may have led to them being widely distributed and popularized within those cultures.Löfström, pp. 191. Starting his professional career in 1958 as a creative executive in renown marketing agency, McCann Helsinki, further encouraged his creativity.

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". His work was published in the

beefcake Beefcake is a performance or a form of glamour photography depicting a large and muscular male body. Beefcake is also a publication genre. A role a person plays in a performance may be called ''beefcake''. The term was believed to be first used ...

genre that began in the 1930s and predominantly featured photographs of attractive, muscular young men in athletic poses often shown demonstrating exercises.''Beefcake'' (1999); Thom Fitzgerald, writer, director, co-producer; Shandi Mitchell, co-producer; Alliance Independent Films. Their primary market was gay men, but because of the conservative and

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

social culture of the era,

gay pornography Gay pornography is the representation of sexual activity between males. Its primary goal is sexual arousal in its audience. Softcore gay pornography also exists; it at one time constituted the genre, and may be produced as beefcake pornogra ...

was illegal and the publications were typically presented as dedicated to physical fitness and health. They were often the only connection that

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...

men had to their sexuality. By this time, however, Laaksonen was rendering private commissions, so more explicit work was produced but remained unpublished. Aside from his work at the advertising agency, Laaksonen operated a small mail-order business, distributing reproductions of his artwork around the world by post, though he did not generate much income this way. In the 1962 case of ''

MANual Enterprises v. Day ''MANual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day'', 370 U.S. 478 (1962), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that magazines consisting largely of photographs of nude or near-nude male models are not obscene within the meaning of . It was ...

'' the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled that nude male photographs were not inherently obscene. Softcore gay pornography magazines and films featuring fully nude models, some of them tumescent, quickly appeared and the pretense of being about exercise and fitness was dropped as controls on pornography were reduced. By the end of the 1960s the market for beefcake magazines collapsed. Laaksonen was able to publish his more overtly homoerotic work and it changed the context with "new possibilities and conventions for displaying frontal male nudity in magazines and movies." Laaksonen reacted by publishing more explicit drawings and stylized his figures' fantastical aspects with exaggerated physical aspects, particularly their genitals and muscles. In the late 1960s he developed

Kake KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and ...

, a character appearing in an ongoing series of comics, which debuted in 1968.

Gay mainstream appeal (1970s–1991)

With the

decriminalization Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This reform ...

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 McCann may refer to: * McCann (surname) * McCann (company), advertising agency * McCann Worldgroup, network of marketing and advertising agencies * Marist College athletic facilities ** McCann Arena ** James J. McCann Baseball Field * McCann Rescu ...

. "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 Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be ...

style, making aspects of the drawings appear more photographic. Many of his drawings are based on photographs, but none are exact reproductions of them.Ilppo Pohjola (author): Kari Paljakka and Alvaro Pardo (producers): Daddy and the Muscle Academy: Tom of Finland: United Kingdom: Oracle Home Entertainment: 2002. 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. 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. 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. TomsRoom-C11

In 1979, Laaksonen, with businessman and friend Durk Dehner, co-founded the Tom of Finland Company to preserve the copyright on his art, which had been widely pirated. In 1984 the Tom of Finland

Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

was established to collect, preserve, and exhibit

artwork.Prono, Luca
Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Popular Culture.
p. 258. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. Although Laaksonen was quite successful at this point, with his biography on the best-seller list, and

Benedikt Taschen Benedikt Taschen (born 10 February 1961) is a German publisher and Private collection, contemporary art collector. He is the founder and managing director of the publishing house Taschen, one of the most successful international publishers, with ...

, the world's largest art book publisher reprinting and expanding a monograph of his works, he was most proud of the Foundation. The scope of the organization expanded to erotic works of all types, sponsored contests, exhibits, and started the groundwork for a museum of erotic art.

Death

Laaksonen was diagnosed with

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

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.

Private life

Laaksonen's life partner was the dancer Veli “Nipa” Mäkinen who shared his life for 28 years, until Mäkinen's death in 1981.

Reception

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

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

, whose work depicting

sado-masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

and fetish

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

was also subject to controversy. A controversial theme in his drawings was the erotic treatment of men in Nazi uniforms. They form a small part of his overall work, but the typically flattering visual treatment of these characters has led some viewers to infer sympathy or affinity for Nazism, and they have been omitted from most recent anthologies of his work. Later in his career Laaksonen disavowed this work and was at pains to dissociate himself and his work from fascist or racist ideologies. He also depicted a significant number of black men in his drawings, with no overt racial or political message in the context in which they appear; although they bear some commonality with racist

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

s of the "hypersexual" black male, these traits are shared by Laaksonen's white characters as well. 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 ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

'' described his work as "illustrative but without expressivity". 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. 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." Writing for ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...

'', Kevin Killian said that seeing Tom of Finland originals "produces a strong respect for his nimble, witty creation". Kate Wolf writes that "Tom of Finland helped pave the way to gay liberation".

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 Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

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. In 2009, Laaksonen was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame. Some of his original works are at the

Leather Archives and Museum The Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) is a community archives, library, and museum located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Founded by Chuck Renslow and Tony DeBlase in 1991, its mission is "making leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish acce ...

Exhibitions

New York's

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

has acquired several examples of Laaksonen's artwork for its permanent collection. In 2006, MoMA in New York accepted five Tom of Finland drawings as part of a much larger gift from The Judith Rothschild Foundation. The trustee of The Judith Rothschild Foundation, Harvey S. Shipley Miller, said, "Tom of Finland is one of the five most influential artists of the twentieth century. As an artist he was superb, as an influence he was transcendent."Hooven 2012, p. 233. Hudson, of Feature Inc., New York, placed Tom of Finland's work in the collections of

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

Museum of Art and

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. His work is also in the public Collections of: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles, USA;

Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art ( fi, Wäinö Aaltosen museo, sv, Wäinö Aaltonens museum) or WAM for short, is an art museum in central Turku, Finland dedicated especially to modern art. The museum is located on the east bank of the Aura Rive ...

; Turku, Finland; University of California Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley (California), USA;

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

, Los Angeles, USA;

Kiasma ) , established = (Museum of Contemporary Art) (opening of Kiasma building) , dissolved = , location = Helsinki, Finland , type = Art museum , accreditation = , key_holdings = , co ...

, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland;

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

, San Francisco, USA; and Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, USA. In 1999, an exhibition took place at the Institut Culturel Finlandais (

Cultural Centre) in Paris. In 2011 there was a large retrospective exhibition of Laaksonen's artwork in

, Finland. The exhibition was one of the official events in Turku's European Capital of Culture programme. In 2012,

Kulturhuset House of Culture (Swedish: Kulturhuset) is a cultural center situated to the south of Sergels torg in central Stockholm, Sweden. The House of Culture has been described as a symbol for Stockholm as well as of the growth of modernism in Sweden. ...

presented a retrospective, ''Tom of Finland'', in Stockholm, Sweden; and Tom of Finland's work was in the

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

Foundation's ''We the People'' in New York City, USA. In 2013, MOCA presented ''Bob Mizer & Tom of Finland'' in Los Angeles, USA. The artist's work was also seen in ''HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Galerie Perrotin Perrotin is a contemporary art gallery founded in 1990 by Emmanuel Perrotin, at the age of twenty-one. He has since opened over eighteen spaces, with the aim of offering increasingly vibrant and creative environments in which to experience art. He ...

– 25 years'' in Lille, France; Leslie Lohman Museum's ''Rare and Raw'' in New York City, USA; and the Institute of Contemporary Art's ''Keep Your Timber Limber (Works on Paper)'' in London, England. In 2015,

Artists Space Artists Space is a non-profit art gallery and arts organization first established at 155 Wooster Street in Soho, New York City. Founded in 1972 by Irving Sandler and Trudie Grace and funded by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Artist ...

presented the exhibition "Tom of Finland: The Pleasure of Play" in New York City, USA. The exhibition was also presented in

Kunsthalle Helsinki Kunsthalle Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin Taidehalli, sv, Helsingfors Konsthall) is a non-profit exhibition space founded by various Finnish artist and art associations in 1928. Presenting annually 5–7 major exhibitions and special events, the main fo ...

in 2016, complemented with additional material such as photos from family albums. In 2020, as part of the 100th birthday celebrations, "Tom of Finland: Love and Liberation" at London's House of Illustration showed 40 originals with ephemera emphasizing fashion as an aspect of his work.

Film

In 1991, Filmitakomo and

Yleisradio Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

produced a documentary film, '' Daddy and the Muscle Academy'', directed by

Ilppo Pohjola Ilppo Anssi Pohjola (born 30 January 1957 in Keuruu) is an independent filmmaker, producer and artist based in Helsinki, Finland. His international breakthrough was '' Daddy and the Muscle Academy'' (1991), a documentary about Tom of Finland. Pohj ...

. By the late 1980s, Laaksonen was well known in the gay world, but his "pneumatically muscled, meticulously rendered monster-donged icons of masculinity" received mainstream attention when the film – which includes hundreds of images of his work along with interviews – was released theatrically in Finland, won a Finnish

Jussi Award The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hels ...

in 1992, and was shown at film festivals and film art houses worldwide.Hooven, F. Valentine, III
Gay histories and cultures: an encyclopedia. Volume 2 of Encyclopedia of lesbian and gay histories and cultures.
p. 884. George E. Haggerty, editor. Taylor & Francis, 2000.
Sheila Johnston, ''The Independent'', 21 August 1992. While praising the artwork's quality one critic noted the film's lauding of Laaksonen as a gay pride icon while ignoring his work's "resemblance to both S & M pornography and Fascist art" which she tied to Laaksonen's early sexual experiences with German soldiers during

. Filmmaker

Wes Hurley Wes Hurley is a Russian-American writer and filmmaker. He has collaborated with many theater, drag (clothing), drag, and cabaret performers in Seattle and raised awareness of human rights violations in Russia. Early life and education Born and r ...

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 ''Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel'' is a 2011 pop-art musical comedy from cult filmmaker, Wes Hurley. It stars the renowned performance artist, Marc Kenison as his gender-bending burlesque personae Waxie Moon, as well as The Stranger Genius-award wi ...

''. ''Variety'' announced in 2013 that Finnish director

Dome Karukoski Thomas "Dome" August George Karukoski (; born 29 December 1976) is a Finnish film director. He is considered to be one of Finland's most successful film directors, having won over 30 festival awards and having directed six feature films that beca ...

was set to make a biopic of Laaksonen, entitled ''

Tom of Finland Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist who made stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art, and influenced late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential ...

''. Helsinki-filmi produced it and secured exclusive rights. The film, released in February 2017 in Finland, is the first biopic of the artist.

Stamps

In September 2014 the Finnish postal service, Itella Posti, published a set of three first class stamps featuring drawings by Laaksonen and in association with the stamps' release exhibited some of his correspondence at the Finnish Postal Museum. Two of the stamps include portions of an illustration of a nude man sitting between the legs of another man dressed as a police officer; the other depicts nude buttocks with a man's face included between the thighs. The stamp set exceeded Posti's expectations, with pre-orders from 178 countries, making it the best-selling stamp set in the service's history.

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.)

Notes

References

* * * * * Ramakers, Mischa. ''Dirty Pictures: Tom of Finland, Masculinity and Homosexuality.'' New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001. * * ''Tom of Finland: The Art of Pleasure.'' Mischa Ramakers, ed. London: Taschen, 1998, * ''Tom of Finland: The Comic Collection.'' Vol. 1–5. Dian Hanson, ed. London: Taschen, 2005. *

External links

*
Grave of Touko LaaksonenTom of Finland Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom Of Finland 1920 births 1991 deaths Fetish artists Finnish cartoonists Finnish erotic artists Gay artists Gay male BDSM Gay male erotica artists Leather subculture LGBT comics creators LGBT artists from Finland People from Kaarina Pseudonymous artists Finnish military personnel of World War II Deaths from emphysema Respiratory disease deaths in Finland 20th-century LGBT people