Join us, September 2nd at Strut for a very special Opening Reception were we will celebrate the arrival of a collection from the Tom of Finland Foundation! For the past 12 years Magnet has been exhibiting the work of a local Gay or Queer artists once a month. For September at Strut, we are honored to be showing a different more intimate look at the origins of the iconic, and legendary Tom of Finland.
The Art Opening starts at 8 PM sharp as always, and will go till 10 PM. Free drinks and light...
Join us, September 2nd at Strut for a very special Opening Reception were we will celebrate the arrival of a collection from the Tom of Finland Foundation! For the past 12 years Magnet has been exhibiting the work of a local Gay or Queer artists once a month. For September at Strut, we are honored to be showing a different more intimate look at the origins of the iconic, and legendary Tom of Finland.
The Art Opening starts at 8 PM sharp as always, and will go till 10 PM. Free drinks and light snacks will be provided.
Please contact our Community Organizer Baruch Porras Hernandez at bporrashernandez@sfaf.org if you have any questions.
You may know the name, but now you will get an intimate look at how Tom, became “Tom of Finland”.
Tom of Finland’s art has always been full of powerful images, men in control, men celebrating their sexuality, unapologetically outdoors, in the day light, not hidden away in shame and darkness. He brought us gay images as heroic god like figures that have become a crucial historic part of the gay art world.
In this exhibition, we see a selection of source materials, which helped to serve as inspiration for some of his work. He combed a wide variety of recourses from all over the world. For example Norman Rockwell’s work in the Saturday Evening Post of nineteen forties, to Bob Miser’s Physique Pictorial of the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties, and of course porn magazines like Drummer and various others in the eighties and nineties.
In 1984, the nonprofit Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF) was established by the artist Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920 – 1991) and Durk Dehner. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homoerotic art, the Foundation's original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened to offer a safe haven for all erotic art in response to rampant discrimination against art that portrayed sexual behavior or generated a sexual response.
Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF) is dedicated to protect, preserve, document and educate the public about erotic art and erotic artists. ToFF shall continue to encourage the work of erotic visual artists regardless of race, creed, religion, gender, sexual identity, medium of expression or any other censoring criteria.
Today ToFF continues in its efforts of educating the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and in promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality, which is why we at Strut are grateful and excited about this exhibition!