Tom of Finland’s Centenary, Seen Through The Artist’s Home, Foundation + Collaborations
Reverberations from the life of the “gay Norman Rockwell”
Born 8 May 1920, homoerotic artist Tom of Finland had a multi-decade career that did not end with his passing in 1991. The legacy of Tom, born Touko Valio Laaksonen, continues to influence emerging artists and inspire members of the queer community. Tom House in LA’s Echo Park is still the center of the expanding universe that surrounds the artist and his work. The Tom of Finland Foundation maintains the home, archives and significant art collection, where Tom’s work not only lives on but also finds new life, resonating and inspiring new generations and audiences. This September saw the release of Tom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero—and we’ve personally fallen in love with everything from Flavor Paper’s Tom of Finland wallpaper to CDLP’s Tom of Finland Centennial jock strap (which debuted two years ago as a limited edition release). These collaborations matter because Tom is an artist who represents freedom—freedom of expression and sexuality. And this “gay Norman Rockwell” not only tore down barriers but brought other artists up with him.
Another stand out from the many licensed Tom of Finland products is the recently released wallpaper by Brooklyn-based Flavor Paper, available in tame and XXX versions in a variety of styles. Two years in the making, it is certain to perk up any room you place it in.
It all goes back to the artist, of course—a dedicated visionary. “He could pick up an instrument and pretty much it wouldn’t take long and he could play it. He could hear songs on the on the radio and then go and play them,” Dehner remembers. “But he came to a critical place and realized if he was really going to go above his job—this job that he had made himself—he was going to have to make art his priority.”
The foundation’s work is broader in scope. “It’s really about getting the house utilized,” Dehner says. In pre-COVID times, they had “drawing classes and tea ceremonies. We had an art and culture weekend here. The foundation has found its audience again and again. Year after year.” Dehner says he’s been worried in the past that interest would die, but ultimately all the new generations of fans needed “was to be invited.”
“He probably could not ever be in the main salons of the Louvre,” Dehner says, emulating a quote Tom made in 1991 that’s on display at the home—but noting that Tom did live to learn of his retrospective at The Whitney that same year. “But maybe if, or when, gays are given permission to love the same way,” Dehner concludes, “maybe you could find him in a little side room there.” Until that time, Tom of Finland can be found in many other meaningful places.
Hero image by Josh Rubin
COOL HUNTING always gets permission to use the images we publish; however, as an independent publication, we cannot afford to continue fighting unfair claims of copyright infringement, so the images have been removed from this post.
