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Tom of Finland – Marginaalista maailmanmaineeseen
Legendaarisen taiteilijan upea elämäkerta
Runsaasti kuvitettu Tom of Finland kertoo Tom of Finlandina tunnetun Touko Laaksosen matkasta kansainvälisen homoyhteisön kulttiikoniksi ja lopulta maailman tunnetuimmaksi suomalaiseksi kuvataiteilijaksi. Teos esittelee laajasti Tom of Finlandin töitä tämän koko uran ajalta, ja kirjaan on koottu paljon piirustuksia ja harvinaisia valokuvia, jotka kuvittavat taiteilijan elämää ja herättävät legendan jälleen henkiin. Kirjan uuteen suomennokseen on koottu runsaasti lisämateriaalia viime vuosilta, ajalta jolloin Tom of Finland nousi lopullisesti marginaalista maailmanmaineeseen.
F. Valentine Hooven III on yhdysvaltalainen kirjailija. Hän on koonnut useita muitakin Tom of Finland -teoksia, kuten kirjan Tom of Finland – His Life and Times.
Runsaasti kuvitettu Tom of Finland kertoo Tom of Finlandina tunnetun Touko Laaksosen matkasta kansainvälisen homoyhteisön kulttiikoniksi ja lopulta maailman tunnetuimmaksi suomalaiseksi kuvataiteilijaksi. Teos esittelee laajasti Tom of Finlandin töitä tämän koko uran ajalta, ja kirjaan on koottu paljon piirustuksia ja harvinaisia valokuvia, jotka kuvittavat taiteilijan elämää ja herättävät legendan jälleen henkiin. Kirjan uuteen suomennokseen on koottu runsaasti lisämateriaalia viime vuosilta, ajalta jolloin Tom of Finland nousi lopullisesti marginaalista maailmanmaineeseen.
F. Valentine Hooven III on yhdysvaltalainen kirjailija. Hän on koonnut useita muitakin Tom of Finland -teoksia, kuten kirjan Tom of Finland – His Life and Times.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published November 28, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 17, 2019
Tom of Finland is arguably the defining influential artist of my life, largely because his work showed me and inspired me to see sex as something enjoyable. And that influence is still felt to this day by those who discover and come to appreciate Tom's art.
I make a point to find everything and anything that has any sort of mention of Tom of Finland's work, and this large book was yet another in a long line of wonderful contributions to the slowly growing discourse of Tom's art. F. Valentine Hooven III, consistently demonstrates his passion for Tom's art and creates in this book a record for those who would have liked to have known him. In terms of biography I do believe that this book tends to drag in places, and Hooven's passion at times does not allow him to explore Tom fully as a human being. He often appears as a man without fault, which can be a dangerous narrative to construct. But this book is about creating a lasting record complete with visuals of the artist himself and the real world people he encountered who helped him ultimately establish an incredible legacy.
While I would recommend the massive Tachen compendium before this text, I would glady offer this book to anyone interested in the life and career of Tom of Finland. Hooven has, much like his previous biography, made me fall in love with the beautiful, and most important, happy gay men of Tom's world.
I make a point to find everything and anything that has any sort of mention of Tom of Finland's work, and this large book was yet another in a long line of wonderful contributions to the slowly growing discourse of Tom's art. F. Valentine Hooven III, consistently demonstrates his passion for Tom's art and creates in this book a record for those who would have liked to have known him. In terms of biography I do believe that this book tends to drag in places, and Hooven's passion at times does not allow him to explore Tom fully as a human being. He often appears as a man without fault, which can be a dangerous narrative to construct. But this book is about creating a lasting record complete with visuals of the artist himself and the real world people he encountered who helped him ultimately establish an incredible legacy.
While I would recommend the massive Tachen compendium before this text, I would glady offer this book to anyone interested in the life and career of Tom of Finland. Hooven has, much like his previous biography, made me fall in love with the beautiful, and most important, happy gay men of Tom's world.
May 13, 2026
A great biography and overview of Tom of Finland and his art. I appreciated the quotes from Tom himself and members of the Foundation throughout the book that helped to add a personal touch to the stories told. This is a great intro to the artist and his work from the very beginning. I do think a more critical biography from the vantage of someone outside his immediate circle is now needed to better contextual is his art and influence in the broader queer community. However, this book helps to establish an excellent baseline and introduction to those that may know the art but not the artist.
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September 27, 2024I like the art way less than I expected (tho ToFF sure can draw a nice leather texture), and I’m not a fan of biographies anyway. I can see why ToFF is a gay icon, and maybe it was revolutionary at the time.
🌓
Read on a bench in Public Library under overhead lighting.
🌓
Read on a bench in Public Library under overhead lighting.
December 3, 2022
Quel bonheur d’en découvrir plus sur Tom of Finland !
Au-delà de rassembler les œuvres iconiques et provocatrices de l’artiste, le livre met également en avant ses motivations à différentes périodes de sa vie : jouer sur les stéréotypes pour mieux les subvertir avec son crayon.
Au-delà de rassembler les œuvres iconiques et provocatrices de l’artiste, le livre met également en avant ses motivations à différentes périodes de sa vie : jouer sur les stéréotypes pour mieux les subvertir avec son crayon.
July 14, 2023
Had to get myself to finish this finally, after the SECOND maintenance guy saw it sitting out on my coffee table…
A catalog of Tom’s work that’s written as more of a biography, rather than an analysis of his art or the culture that sprang from it. Very illustrated.
A catalog of Tom’s work that’s written as more of a biography, rather than an analysis of his art or the culture that sprang from it. Very illustrated.
October 19, 2018
Kirja joka herättää ymmärtämään asioita hieman toisenlaisesta näkökulmasta. Tai mm. kuinka haastavaa on saattanut olla nousu hyvin marginaalisista olosuhteista ja sellaisista, joita pidettiin rangaistuksen saamisen edellytyksinä. Lisäksi kirjassa annetaan hyvin paljon tietoa Suomen tilanteesta ja kuinka mm. Neuvostoliitto ja Ruotsikin vaikuttivat siihen, kuinka homoseksuaalisuus ja muutenkin seksuaaliset vähemmistö nähtiin. Tarjosi myös matkan kuuluisien teoksien sekä vähemmän tuttujen teoksien taustalle ja muutenkin siihen, millaisia taustoja tarinoiden osalta on sekä millaisia tekniikoita teoksissa käytetty eli mm. onko alkuperäinen tussilla tehty, väritetty yms.
November 1, 2023
Wowowwow. I started reading this book with thought "yeaasss, gay art, cocks, serve". But now, after reading this book, the inner gay child in me is healed. I admire Tom's work for the rest of my life.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews