Today, Tom of Finland's art continues to inspire new generations of artists, designers, and fans. His influence can be seen in:
This paradox was dizzying. The man who was arrested on obscenity charges in the 1960s for "depicting lascivious acts" was now the logo for a $750 leather jacket. 2017 asked a hard question: Is this victory? Or is this the co-opting of a revolutionary by the very capitalist machine he lived outside of? tom of finland -2017-
The most prominent voice in 2017 belonged to the who argued that Tom’s utopia is also a monoculture. The argument went like this: Today, Tom of Finland's art continues to inspire
In reality, Touko is a man who fears for his safety, glancing over his shoulder in dark alleys. On paper, his men are fearless. They are hyper-masculine, muscular, mustachioed giants clad in leather and denim. They are unapologetic. The film argues that Tom of Finland’s art was not just pornography; it was a corrective measure against a world that wanted to shame queer men into invisibility. By drawing men who were the apex of masculinity—soldiers, bikemen, lumberjacks—Touko reclaimed the very symbols of power that had been used to oppress him. 2017 asked a hard question: Is this victory
If the MOCA exhibition was the intellectual proof of Tom’s arrival, the theatrical release of the Finnish biopic Tom of Finland (directed by Dome Karukoski) in 2017 was the emotional proof.