The Tom of Finland retrospective which was one of the key highlights of Turku’s European Capital of Culture 2011 has attracted record audiences of 31,000 over the summer at the prestigious Kulturhuset in Stockholm.

The exhibition ran for nearly two months (28.6.-19.8.2012) and consisted of over 50 rare and iconic drawings on special loan from the permanent collection of Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles.

TOM OF FINLAND (Finnish, 1920 – 1991), Untitled, 1988, Graphite on paper, ToFF #88.01, © 1988 Tom of Finland Foundation

Curator Gary Everett of Homotopia, Liverpool said: “The response to Tom in Stockholm has been incredible and Homotopia are very proud to have created a unique and important legacy of our hugely successful year in Turku

“Our collaboration with Homotopia and Turku 2011 has been a true milestone for our organisation and we hope to continue to foster stronger links in the UK & Finland. Tom would have been so happy to see what’s been achieved in his homeland and Sweden, added Durk Dehner, President of Tom of Finland Foundation Los Angeles.

“We made the Tom of Finland retrospective part of Turku’s European Capital of Culture year because we wanted to introduce Tom’s works to a wider audience and also to leave a legacy that would benefit research related to arts and human rights in particular. The year 2011 was Tom’s coming home.

Cay Sevón, CEO of the Turku 2011 Foundation said: “For us, working together with the Foundation in LA and Homotopia in Liverpool was a valuable experience, and we are happy to have been given the chance to take the project to Stockholm’s Kulturhuset, which is, of course, a very high-profile place to exhibit in.”

The Turku 2011 Foundation awarded funding to Homotopia Liverpool’s Tom of Finland exhibition as part of the legacy of the European Capital of Culture year 2011. The same exhibition attracted 90,000 visitors in Turku, making it one of the biggest crowd-pullers of the celebratory year. In all, the exhibitions in Turku and Stockholm were seen by some 121,000 people.

Homotopia was also planning to take parts of the exhibition to St Petersburg, again with the support of the Turku 2011 Foundation, but decided to cancel the project after being warned by British officials that going ahead with the plans could put them at risk under the city’s new anti-gay legislation, which was introduced at the end of February this year. St Petersburg’s new piece of legislation banning for example films, music videos, books and magazines with homosexual content has sparked an international outcry.

Liverpool’s Homotopia organizer compares Russian city’s ‘insidious’ anti-gay laws to 1930s Berlin after forced to cancel human rights exhibition

BY MATTHEW JENKIN

A UK gay arts festival has been forced to cancel a two-year project in St Petersburg for fear of arrest under the Russian city’s new homophobic laws.

Liverpool’s Homotopia was due to show an exhibition chronicling the emergence of the gay rights movement in the UK and Europe, but organizers have pulled the program after being warned by British officials that they could be arrested or fined as a result.

St Petersburg has been condemned by world leaders and human rights activists after it passed an anti-gay ‘propaganda’ law which effectively gags any public discussion of LGBT issues or events targeted at gay and trans people, including pride.

Artistic director Gary Everett was due to fly out later this month with a colleague.

‘The British Embassy and British Consulate were really monitoring what was happening and the advice was that if we go we would be open to arrest and could end up being put in prison because we are an overtly gay festival,’ Everett told Gay Star News.

He added: ‘I’ve never encountered these obstacles before but it’s more insidious than that. It’s more severe in terms of the law’s enforcement. They will arrest people. They’ve already arrested Russian activists so what would stop them from doing that to someone from our country?’

TOM OF FINLAND (Finnish, 1920 – 1991), Untitled (Detail from “Finlander Studs 2″), 1974, Graphite on paper, 11.75” x 8.25”, Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection #74.08, © 1974 Tom of Finland Foundation

Art as Social Change was launched following a hugely successful exhibition of Tom of Finland in the gay artist’s home city of Turku.

Part of the legacy of Homotopia’s time in the Finnish city was the creation of three projects, including a show on human rights in Turku’s twin city St Petersburg.

‘What is sad is that St Petersburg is one of the most progressive cities in terms of art and culture,’ Everett added.

‘It’s a very exciting place in terms of art, music, fashion and creativity but they don’t want to have a gay and lesbian element to that. They seem to want to just wipe it out.

The year-long exhibition of legendary Gay artist, Tom of Finland, ended in December attracting a record audience of 90,000 to the Logomo space. The exhibition, which opened in January 2011, was part of the official program for Turku European Capital of Culture 2011 and presented by Homotopia, Liverpool, Turku 2011 Foundation and Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles.

TOM OF FINLAND (Finnish, 1920 – 1991), Untitled (Detail from "Finlander Studs 2"), 1974, Graphite on paper, 11.75” x 8.25”, Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection #74.08, © 1974 Tom of Finland Foundation

The major retrospective of 70 rare and iconic drawings from 1928 to 1990 were on special loan from Tom of Finland Foundation’s permanent collection. The exhibition was a key highlight of the Homotopia Festival when Liverpool was European Capital of Culture in 2008, attracting record audiences there of 7,000.

Cay Sevón, CEO Turku 2011 Foundation, said “The Tom of Finland retrospective was one of the most valuable parts of the artistic program of the European Capital of Culture year. The exhibition attracted significant national and international interest. The project will leave a permanent heritage in Turku. Tom of Finland Foundation has donated a piece of art to The City Museum for Modern Art, as a first work that we hope will build into a collection. Relatives of Tom (Touko Laaksonen) want to participate in supporting the establishment of such a collection, built especially on work, personal effects and memorabilia from Touko’s youth. Åbo Akademi University in Turku will start collecting written documents about and by Touko, particularly pertaining to Touko’s youth. The project in many ways has given us in Turku a gift of permanent relevance.”

“Tom of Finland” Through December 18 at Logomo Exhibition Center Turku, Finland

As part of a highly successful year as European Capital of Culture, Turku, Finland, has been hosting this one-of-a-kind retrospective celebrating the work of local bad boy Tom of Finland (né Touko Laaksonen). Featuring both early sketches and later greater works, the show is curated by Gary Everett, artistic director of Liverpool’s Homotopia, and features pieces from Tom of Finland Foundation’s permanent collection in Los Angeles.

Queerty

Tom of Finland will not be leaving Turku entirely, even though the Capital of Culture year’s successful Tom of Finland Retrospective exhibition is closing there on December 18, 2011. The Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art (WAM) and the Åbo Akademi Library in Turku wish to collect works by Tom of Finland and material related to the artist.

Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF) supports the desires of the city’s institutions and as a token of that support we have donated one of the artist’s works from our collection to WAM, acting as the Turku City Art Museum.

The gift is a signed, pastel portrait from 1971.

TOM OF FINLAND (Finnish, 1920 – 1991)
Untitled, 1971, Pastel on paper, 15.25” x 12.00”
ToFF #71.07, © 1971 Tom of Finland Foundation

We are very pleased to help Tom’s family and friends in his return to his native region. Turku appreciates his Beauty and shares his Message of freedom.

The work was presented to the Museum on December 15, 2011 by Tom of Finland Foundation president and cofounder, Durk Dehner, a close friend of Tom’s and together they established ToFF on December 14, 1984.

Receiving the gift was Päivi Kiiski,
Director of Fine Arts at the Museum Centre of Turku. “On the identity front, we
are especially interested in Queer research, which makes Tom particularly
fitting for our collection,” Päivi Kiiski says with gratitude.

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen) , a native of Turku’s neighboring town of Kaarina, conquered the world with his trademark style. “From an art history point of view, Tom of Finland has inspired popular culture and contemporary art in many ways. A modern art museum is the best place for his artistic legacy,” Kiiski says.

Tom passed away in 1991 and now belongs to the world.
He loved his homeland and he loved to meet people from all over the globe.
On paper, he created a world so attractive that countless
numbers of Queers sought to live in it
and, in fact, recreated Tom’s world in their world – the real world.

TOM OF FINLAND Retrospective, Turku, Finland – till the 18th of December

A retrospective look into the world-famous works of Tom of Finland.

 TOM OF FINLAND (Finnish, 1920 – 1991)
Untitled (from “Camping”, Detail), 1976
Gouache on paper, 12.00” x 11.25”, ToFF #76.29
© 1976 Tom of Finland Foundation

“His art is art at best: provocative, commenting on society, bold and
wonderfully drawn - a good reason to visit Turku!”

Visit the 2011 gift shop.                      FINAL 2 DAYS – FREE ADMISSION!

EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE

The time for acknowledgements and thanks with respect to the Capital of Culture year will be the weekend from 17 to 18 December.
Viimeinen mahdollisuus – vain muutama päivä!

Tom of Finland died in Helsinki in 1991 but was actually born in the region of Turku, Finland. Mies Mikkonen’s film documents the triumphant return of the permanent collection to Turku including some of Tom’s most iconic and rarely seen artwork.

“I gave him companionship and confidentiality.”

Tom of Finland
Documentary
Finland-GB-USA 2011
Duration 10 minutes

Direction and screenplay Mies Mikkonen

TOM OF FINLAND, © 1957 Tom of Finland Foundation

Produced in partnership with Turku 2011 Foundation, Homotopia and Tom of Finland Foundation

We are proud of Mies and the work he has done.
Turku has produced a wealth of talent and is made remarkable by its people.

The new, 10 minute documentary by Mies Mikkonen of Tom of Finland can be seen non-stop at the Tom of Finland exhibition in Turku, Finland.

Tom of Finland
Documentary
Finland-GB-USA 2011
Duration 10 minutes

Direction and screenplay Mies Mikkonen

Logomo
Köydenpunojankatu 14
Turku 20100

Uusi dokumentti Tom of Finlandista 

Logomon Tom of Finland -näyttely täydentyy marraskuussa uudella dokumentilla. Mies Mikkonen on tehnyt lyhytelokuvan, joka esittelee näyttelyn rakentumisesta sekä Tom of Finland -nimen takaa löytyvää taiteilijaa ja ihmistä.

Homoeroottisen piirrostaiteen mestarista Tom of Finlandista on aiemmin tehty täysipitkä dokumenttielokuva, Ilppo Pohjolan Daddy and the muscle academy, jossa taiteilija itse kertoo elämästään ja ajatuksistaan. Mikkosen tuoreessa lyhytdokumentissa ääneen pääsee puolestaan Tom of Finlandin entinen malli Durk Dehner.

Dehner muistelee hänelle läheistä taiteilijaa ja Tomin maailmalle jättämää perintöä haastattelussa, joka kuvattiin Turussa alkuvuodesta 2011. Elokuvassa Dehner kertoo muun muassa Tom of Finlandin suhteesta Suomeen sekä arkipäiväisiä asioita Tomista ihmisenä.

Produced in partnership with Turku 2011 Foundation, Tom of Finland Foundation and Homotopia.

TOM’s Club, MSC Finland,  is a fetish club for leather, rubber and biker guys and is now celebrating their 35th year.

The Club is shown here visiting Tom of Finland, in Turku, Finland, a retrospective look into the world-famous works of Tom of Finland. The exhibition is up till the 18th of December, 2011.