The Complete Tom of Finland
By Dian Hanson
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The Complete Tom of Finland began as a tiny seed in Benedikt Taschen's brain several years ago, and nourished by his unbounded imagination, grew over time into a brawny, brawling, muscular vision of a book that now threatens to become the most ambitious volume of explicit art ever published. It's sheer size is daunting: at a projected 290 x 440 mm (11 1/2x17 1/4 Inches) it's a book perfectly scaled to Tom's mythic sexual warriors. But since Tom's men also have a tender side, The Complete Tom will be sensual as well as sexy, an elegant feast for the eyes and fingertips created from state of the art digital scans on high-quality paper, with essays by writers diverse as John Waters, Camille Paglia, Clive Barker and Vivienne Westwood. And of course, it must be as complete as possible, from Tom's first explorative childhood drawings to his final sketch of a uniformed officer, drawn four months before his death in 1991.
The Complete Tom has now moved from idea into production, and I'm proud to be the editor charged with transforming Benedikt's vision into reality. It's a daunting job, and could never be attempted without the collaborative efforts of the Tom of Finland Foundation here in Los Angeles.
My guide and advisor is Foundation director Durk Dehner. His relationship with Tom began through correspondence in 1976. Durk shared Tom's love of uniforms, motorcycles and black leather and was soon visiting Tom in Helsinki and modeling for what Tom called his "dirty drawings". A close friendship developed, and when Tom spent more time in the US following the death of his long time partner Veli, Durk made a place for him to work and live in his home. It was at that time in 1979/80 that the pair formed a publishing company to help Tom control pirating of his work. When the AIDS epidemic hit in 1984 the Tom of Finland Foundation was born as a non-profit archive to preserve not just Tom's work, but the work of all erotic artists, many of whom were facing death with no agency receptive to their own dirty drawings, paintings, sculpture and photographs.
Twenty-one years later the 1906 Craftsman-style home in LA's Echo Park neighborhood is still home to Dehner and the Foundation. Erotic art covers every wall and surface, though the most valuable pieces are displayed as prints, with the originals locked safely away. The Foundation stages regular fundraisers and parties to allow the public to view the works, but they're best seen on quiet days, in the soft light filtering through a tangle of bougainvillea, banana and bird of paradise plants surrounding the lovely old house.
Page [1] [2] [3]
Page [1] [2] [3]
The Complete Tom of Finland began as a tiny seed in Benedikt Taschen's brain several years ago, and nourished by his unbounded imagination, grew over time into a brawny, brawling, muscular vision of a book that now threatens to become the most ambitious volume of explicit art ever published. It's sheer size is daunting: at a projected 290 x 440 mm (11 1/2x17 1/4 Inches) it's a book perfectly scaled to Tom's mythic sexual warriors. But since Tom's men also have a tender side, The Complete Tom will be sensual as well as sexy, an elegant feast for the eyes and fingertips created from state of the art digital scans on high-quality paper, with essays by writers diverse as John Waters, Camille Paglia, Clive Barker and Vivienne Westwood. And of course, it must be as complete as possible, from Tom's first explorative childhood drawings to his final sketch of a uniformed officer, drawn four months before his death in 1991.
The Complete Tom has now moved from idea into production, and I'm proud to be the editor charged with transforming Benedikt's vision into reality. It's a daunting job, and could never be attempted without the collaborative efforts of the Tom of Finland Foundation here in Los Angeles.
My guide and advisor is Foundation director Durk Dehner. His relationship with Tom began through correspondence in 1976. Durk shared Tom's love of uniforms, motorcycles and black leather and was soon visiting Tom in Helsinki and modeling for what Tom called his "dirty drawings". A close friendship developed, and when Tom spent more time in the US following the death of his long time partner Veli, Durk made a place for him to work and live in his home. It was at that time in 1979/80 that the pair formed a publishing company to help Tom control pirating of his work. When the AIDS epidemic hit in 1984 the Tom of Finland Foundation was born as a non-profit archive to preserve not just Tom's work, but the work of all erotic artists, many of whom were facing death with no agency receptive to their own dirty drawings, paintings, sculpture and photographs.
Twenty-one years later the 1906 Craftsman-style home in LA's Echo Park neighborhood is still home to Dehner and the Foundation. Erotic art covers every wall and surface, though the most valuable pieces are displayed as prints, with the originals locked safely away. The Foundation stages regular fundraisers and parties to allow the public to view the works, but they're best seen on quiet days, in the soft light filtering through a tangle of bougainvillea, banana and bird of paradise plants surrounding the lovely old house.
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(c) Tom of Finland Foundation
If you have any original art by this fine artist, even if it's just something you think might be a Tom of Finland, please contact:
Tom of Finland Foundation
P.O. Box 26658
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Phone: 213.250.1685
Fax: 213.481.2092