[Liam Cole] Tom of Finland influence...

[liamcoletim]

Click here to see Liam Cole's original blog post... (Liam Cole is a producer for Treasure Island located in London).

Lately I've been enjoying the huge Tom of Finland book that Taschen published last year. It's a wonderful celebration of his work, with fantastic reproductions of his incredible drawings.

With so much of his imagery in my mind at the moment, it's no surprise that the influence is showing. The pictures here aren't copied from his work, they're just things I've doodled on scraps of paper while I'm working. Attempting to draw in another person's style, without having their work infront of you to copy, is alot like immitating a person's voice - and Tom's is a pretty inimmitable one. The top picture is my own tinkering with his fetish for Nazi uniforms.





Click To See Liam's Videos @ Treasure Island Media
or
Watch Liam's Videos Now @ TIMFuck.com

[cmmolthr]

I've loved Tom Of Finland for more than 30 years!!! This to me was influence enough to learn more and become part of the leather community!!

[Hotload84]

I have a copy of the Taschen book entitled Tom of Finland, the Art of Pleasure published in 1998. At about 353 pages (plus end leafs), it is quite a tour de force. Assuming the following book is that which Liam Cole describes as "...the huge Tom of Finland ... published last year..." it would be interesting to compare the two books. The new book, Tom of Finland XXL is described as 600 pages in length. Wow! http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/cata...inland_xxl.htm

[sleazebugga]

Love Tom of Finland. His men are the ideal for me. yep the new book is hot!

[Belfast-Bottom]

Liam Cole is a talented artist in more ways than one!

[WCCOCKPIT]

It is a pity that so few gay men these days know about the importance Tom of Finland and his art. Back in the 1950’s and 60’s, when the general public was being taught that homosexuality was a mental illness, related to depression, suicide, gender confusion, and self hatred, TOM started drawing his ‘dirty little pictures’ of Men have Sex with Men- fully and passionately without regret or remorse. Few artists have been able to change the world while they were alive, but TOM’s work helped create what we know as the Leather scene and the Masculine Gay Ethos that many of us eat, live and breath everyday.

[Hotload84]

You're very right, WCCOCKPIT. TOM's contribution is well worth remembering.

[cmmolthr]

I've never really thought about it that way, but it makes sense, as I believe Tom was drawing as far back as the 1950s.....The infamous McCarthy era

[einathens]

he did illustrations for 'physique pictoral' which was an important early advocate for gay rights and free speech.

i think he did for gay men what barbie did for straight girls, but i do love then men who can pull off the look.

[mikeyabroad]

Same... i've been a fan since my teen years. Had the same influence on me

[fuckboy20]

Glad their are tom of finland fans. My Master and many other leather Sirs I know were heavily inspired by Tom of Finland. For some it was sort of an ideal image and attitude of what gay men are like and should be like. I honestly wish there was something similar to this for the current younger generation of gays. Many young gays including myself don't have an ideal image or influence that represents masculinity, strength, leather, and sex like tom of finland does. Instead they have more of the feminizing gay culture and pop stars and idols to look up to and influence them and sometimes make them act more feminine like but not only that but believe that its the only way to be gay. I was fortunate that I found leather and learned that you can be gay and somewhat masculine as well. Of course I see nothing wrong with guys who are fem or act more like the stereotypical gay. But I also like options.

I used to read (jack off mentally) the tom of finland stories at a gay bookstore (non sex) that we used to have. I've seen many online too. I also love tagame as well though but that's sort of different.

[WCCOCKPIT]

27 years ago, when TOM was approaching 90 and knew that his end was near, he wanted to be sure his legacy would live on after he died. But as he began working to create the Tom of Finland Foundation, he quickly realized that there were thousands and thousands of Erotic Artists around the world who did not have anyone to preserve their art or their memory.

Today, Tom of Finland Foundation operates the world's largest public erotic art archive in Los Angeles, and every year, we organize events to support and promote both established and emerging artists alike. His art can be found in national galleries and museums throughout Europe, yet in the United Sates, this new generation of neo-puritan homosexuals (HRC, Logo, The Advocate) are actively working to erase his memory and his impact on our identities as men who like to fuck, and get fucked, by men.

Despite how fundamentally opposed we are to censorship and the silencing of sexual self-expression, Tom of Finland Foundation will be returning to IML this year after our long absence, in hope that his legacy can inspire a broader and more accepting understanding of human sexuality among those who would presume to represent us as Gay Men. Please feel free to stop by the table and say "howdy". Thank you for keeping his memory alive.