Contact
SubscribePosting a new topic
You must register and log in in order to be able to add comments to any topic to the blog. These may be moderated. When you register with your name and e-mail address a password will be sent to that address (this can be changed once you are logged in by editing your profile).
Once you have your password, you may login in from the menu item on the left sidebar under Meta. Select Comments to create your new post.
On the discretion of the moderator, a user’s permissions may be raised so that he/she can add their own posts/categories. Once a user is registered with permissions to add and edit their own posts, they still will have no access to delete or modifiy other user’s posts.
New posts are moderated for suitability and appropriateness for the blog.
The Foundation has a tiny staff [two full-time and one half-time], some very dedicated volunteers, and… YOU.
The City of West Hollywood has been a great friend. The Consolate General of Finland has been another with their support of Finland’s most famous person. There are dribs and drabs of royalty commissions from here and there. Almost everyone seems to know Tom of Finland — or recognizes his work.
But the Foundation would be impossible without the care, concern, and contributions from our members and other supporters.
If you are not a member, consider joining. You can use a money order if you prefer, but we have lots of options. Call 213.250.1685 or visit the Foundation website for other options.
No second or third parties [and so on] get our mailing list. It is confidential. Communications are between The Tom of Finland Foundation and you. We respect the confidence you place with us.
More later.
We are in the middle of one of our major fund raising efforts. Mailing costs and printing costs are sky high, many people aren’t web-aware, and… we might not have reached YOU with a convenient method of contribution.
But that is only if you know enough about the Foundation to join in the fun.
FUN?
YES!
It is also a heritage.
Each month hundreds of dollars flow into providing a climate controlled storage space protect paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures and other expressions of the erotic arts.
Sharon, our administrator, is at the ready to answer phone calls, e-mails, and snail mail about most things Foundation related during our business hours.
Tom of Finland was a major influence in gay and straight erotic culture for about half a century. He still is today. In fact, Tom’s work is being printed and being hailed as an innovator in more publications than ever before. Tom has more exhibitions showing his art after his passing that he did while he was alive.
That is very nice.
Tom was also keen on spreading the vision. New times: new visions.
You can see how his own works changed with the times.
Look at his works from the 1950s and 1960s and early 1970s.
Some people call those images cartoons. Yet those images of gay masculinity resonated in a way that even Tom couldn’t have dreamed of when he first put pen to paper. Gay men could be, but didn’t have to, be passive wimps.
They were men.
As men, and adults, they could play many roles. One of his favorite characters, Kake, had a number of experiences that Tom “documented”. Fucking, sucking, taking it up the rear… why not?
What makes a man a man? [Or a woman a woman?]
Over a few decades, Tom brought to a slow halt the popular illusion that gay men must be passive cock suckers, subservient to the great unwashed dicks that could use a blow job.
At least amongst a few of us.
And a then a few more.
And then a growing number said that “I can be butch”, “I can be feminine”, “I can explore who I want to be”.
Tom was just a man. He had a vision. That vision expanded. Where Tom would direct the Foundation today… That’s now Durk Dehner’s mission. He encouraged Tom to start the Foundation to preserve Tom’s works.
Then other “gay” artists submitted works for protection and to support the Foundation. Then “straight” artists submitted.
Well… The foundation of The Tom of Finland Foundation is still mostly gay men. Lesbians, transsexuals, and heterosexuals are not only welcome, but welcome with open arms. Tom of Finland fractured gay stereotypes, but his greater vision was fractioning all sexual stereotypes.
Now. Tom was gay. He could only draw images that turned him on, and that was usually man-to-man steaming sex. So if he didn’t draw hot lesbian sexual situations… well… it wasn’t his turn on.
So what?
The Foundation includes straight, gay, lesbian, trans, and other art on display. Our “Artist Links” section is one of the best on the Internet.
Oh, yes
This is just a test to see if our new blog is working.
If I can add a comment, you might be able to add one alsol
All of the above is “heart felt”. The Tom of Finland Foundation is unique in its goal:
TO PROTECT, PRESERVE, AND PROMOTE EROTIC ART
We’ve done it for almost 25 years because people like you care.
The Foundation is a non-profit — and donations and portions of memberships are perhaps deductible depending on the laws of your land. We are a 501(3)(c), so that’s good for certain tax deductions.
You can also donate portions of your erotic art collection to be included in our Permanent Collection — or to be available to other collectors to support our mission.
Memberships? Donations? Volunteering? Purchasing art? Linking to the Foundation on your own website or blog?
These are just a few of the ways you can promote the Tom of Finland Foundation.
Mostly, it’s word-of-mouth. One friend to another, and another, and another.
Tom died over a decade ago, but his vision lives on.
That vision can grow to offer new youngsters (and oldsters) an exciting place to participate in the erotic arts… or shrink into an old prune of what might-have-been.
[How am I doing, Paul? Someone has to kick start this Harley. Honda's are easy to start. Harley's, well, they have to know who is boss. But I've never tried kick starting a blob before.]
Best to all. And to all, a good night.