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Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero
Tuoko Laaksonen, also known as Tom of Finland (1920–1991), was an iconic and provocative artist who rose to cult status in the international gay community and beyond for his work celebrating gay archetypes and masculinity during a time when being gay was taboo. Created in partnership with the Tom of Finland Estate, Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero is a beautifully detailed visual biography full of never or rarely seen documents from his archive. The text was completed just a few months before the death of the artist and was fully approved by him—making this book the only 100% approved biography of this gay legend responsible for creating the muscled, mustachioed gay archetype of the 1960s and '70s.
With an extensive biography, and suggestive photos and illustrations, Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero brings to life the icon whose erotic illustrations of men influenced many artists, including Robert Mapplethorpe and Bruce Weber.
With an extensive biography, and suggestive photos and illustrations, Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero brings to life the icon whose erotic illustrations of men influenced many artists, including Robert Mapplethorpe and Bruce Weber.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published November 28, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 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.
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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.
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Read on a bench in Public Library under overhead lighting.
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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 - 7 of 7 reviews