States of Desire;Tom of Finland in the Queer Imagination

“Open Call for International Curators and Art Films in Celebration of Tom of Finland’s Centenary” (1920-1991).

The Project:

Spearheaded by Casa de Duende* in Philadelphia in collaboration with independent curators and artist collaboratives in Colombia and Puerto Rico, States of Desire; Tom of Finland in the Queer Imagination issued an international call for video celebrating, examining and questioning the influence of Tom of Finland in the Queer imagination in celebration of the centenary of his birth and to Tom of Finland's impact on Queer art and culture.

Background:

2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Finish artist, Tom of Finland (Touko Valio Laaksonen,8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991.) Finland’s illustrations and homoerotic drawings of hypermasculinized men made a profound impact on gay male culture. The post WWII period that would define ideas of male beauty, masculinity, and sexual desire were in large part cultivated by Finlands’ figurative drawings. Pre-war depictions of gay men painted a passive, weak and unhappy charicature, Tom set forth to counter these notions by drawing strong, proud and masculine men liberated in their sexuality. 

Finland’s work extended its influence to pornography, fashion, photography and most significantly, leather culture around the globe. But, controversy was no stranger to Tom of Finland. His depictions of uniformed men, included German Nazi soldiers, hyper-sexualized Black men and homoerotic content caught the attention of censors who objected to the explicitness of his work. Further complicating his legacy, the chiseled bodies and narrow scope of masculinity found in his work further reinforced impossible beauty standards. 

From whatever vantage point we view Tom of Finland’s place in our survey of Queer history, his legacy created a representation that inspired a disenfrancised community into a place of empowerment. With time and perspective, we applaud and critique Finland for the role he played in the visibility of Gay male sexuality, flaws and assets alike. It is for the courage and unapologetic nature of his and his contemporaries depictions of Queerness that we are able to develop into a more inclusive space of visibility and pride. 

The Call:

Casa de Duende Curatorial Team

Artists Gabriel Martinez, Heather Raquel Phillips, Gerard Silva, David Acosta, and Ron Abrams. Guest curators in Colombia were Felipe Chona, Mateo Sierra and Alejandro Jaramillo and in Puerto Rico Jose Luis Cortez and the artist collective Ichu.

Unfortunately due to the adult content of some of the videos/films submitted, Vimeo removed the videos from our Vimeo platform citing a violation of community standards so they are not available.