June 19, 2011

TOM  OF  FINLAND  FOUNDATION
presents the 20th Annual
TOM's Bar
Pleasure Park

Contest: Come as your favorite TOM's Man!

Life Drawing Workshop
IS PART OF TOM'S BAR THIS MONTH

Details

June 25 -
August 6, 2011

June 1 - 30, 2011

April 2 -
June 26, 2011

July 12 -
August 9, 2011

June 2 - 25, 2011

June 25 -
August 6, 2011

A very special thanks to Miguel Reyes and all the ToFF Volunteers who made LA PRIDE 2011 so jubliant! It was s-t-e-a-m-y in the Erotic City tent and h-o-t out on the streets for the Parade.

The Foundation wishes to thank Jacob Prieto, his dad Arnold, and the wonderful folks at Green Float Company of Fullerton, CA for helping to fufill our mission. This year we had an honest-to-goodness float! Wow!!!

And a massive thanks to ToFF Volunteer Devin, who did an extra-extrodinary job at the Festival giving out info, signing up folks and encouraging lots of smiles.

When Christopher Street West launched its Erotic City in 2002 – the goal was to be more inclusive by bringing more of the alternative community to the Festival. Tom of Finland Foundation was invited to be the centerpiece and has been proud to participate since. Thank you to artists Dear Angel, Baphomet, Hector Silva, Karoy and Mark H. Flanders for sharing their beautiful work with all the eager celebrants.

Everyone at CSW — including Rodney Scott, Louie Pacheco Saenz, Steve Ganzell, Sue Sexton, Karina Samala, and Thomas B.W. Nicholson — have the true knack for making everyone around them happy.

Congradulations to Mr. CSW Leather 2012, Neal Kenji Christensen. ToFF acknowledges that each and every contestant adds his own luster to the Leather Community and with them they carry the Spirit of TOM.

The Foundation has been Protecting, Preserving and Promoting erotic art — passing on the Power of Tom’s work, the Passion he has instilled in the Artists who stand on his shoulders, and reminding everyone of the Purpose of the Artist as Storyteller of his Tribe.

On Sunday, we here at Tom of Finland Foundation received some very sad though not unexpected news from the Netherlands.

Marteen van de Logt (July 15, 1942 – June 12, 2011), the artist known around the world as Martin of Holland, died at his home in Den Haag, in the company for his friends and family, from an inoperable brain tumor diagnosed earlier this year.

Martin of Holland’s art appeals to very specific tastes, and to call it extreme might be a bit of an understatement. His passion for his favorite subject matter and his unflinching imagination set him a part from those who crave social approval or critical adulation. In a time when so many new and established Gay and Erotic artists are trying to “tastefully tone it down,” Martin’s works stand apart as both fiercely creative and proudly uncompromised.

Though many in his home country are unfamiliar with his works, his impact on one of the most socially progressive countries in the world was profound. As the last individual in the Netherlands to be arrested and incarcerated for producing and distributing his own pornography in the 1950s and '60s , the civil rights ramifications of his multiple year imprisonment helped insure that the generations that followed were free from bias and bigotry hidden behind and inside all acts of censorship.

We send our most heart felt condolences to his partner and his family.

Martin of Holland's Webpages

George Wong of Montebello, California died on June 6 at 5:00 am.

George was very active in Avatar Club Los Angeles, his community — a loyal ToFF Volunteer and a tremendous help at TOM’s Bars over the years. All that knew him benefitted from knowing him.

The Foundation offers its condolences to the Wong family, who have requested privacy in wake of George’s passing.