Tom of Finland Foundation Sponsoring:
10th Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Competition

Photo of Tom of Finland by Patric Sarfarti.

This Year's Grand Prize TOM OF FINLAND (Touko Laaksonen, Finnish, 1920 – 1991), Untitled (Preparatory drawing), c. 1979, Graphite on paper, 8.31" x 11.69", ToFF #1004 © 1979 Tom of Finland Foundation

Tom of Finland Foundation, which preserves and promotes the legacy of the iconic gay artist, is returning with its Emerging Artist Competition, an opportunity for queer artists to showcase and gain notoriety for their work.

This year marks the 10th competition, and the Foundation has gathered an impressive panel of queer artists to judge the submissions. These individuals include assume vivid astro focus (Eli Sudbrack and Christophe Hamaide-Pierson), Elmgreen and Dragset (Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset), Richard Hawkins, Ryan Heffington, Bruce LaBruce, Helmut Lang, Linder, and A.L. Steiner.

The Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Competition is meant to be an open forum for queer artists to showcase their work in a freeing and nonrestrictive fashion.

"In actively mentoring emerging artists," Durk Dehner, President and Cofounder of Tom of Finland Foundation, said in a statement, "being guardians of culture, and providing safe environments for the arts, we pursue Tom of Finland's ethos and practice that inspired generations."

— By James Nichols, The Huffington Post

Head here for more information on the competition!

Artist In Passing
Pedro Santillana a.k.a. PALANCA

Pedro with a blow-up of his work in 2008.

Sadly, Pedro Santillana passed away on Tuesday, 22nd July. He was having liver problems related to his HIV condition for some years.

From ToFF's Dispatch, Summer 2001: Featured Artist: PALANCA. The Foundation recently connected with a wonderful artist out of Peru, whose artist name is PALANCA — He is presently visiting the states, and we have been working with him to assist in pricing his works and looking for ways to expose these wonderful creations to a broader public

From TOM's Blog, April 2014: PALANCA — crudely sexual and delicious. In 2001 Palanca went to Los Angeles where he met the founder and the curator of Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF). He showed at the Tom of Finland Art Fair, L.A. Pride's Erotic City and TOM's Bar. In L.A. he also met filmmaker Chris Maher. In 2007 he was honored with a Special Recognition from ToFF.

Pedro Javier Santillana Cruzado goes away leaving the best memories his family and friends can treasure, both as a person and as an artist.

More on TOM's Blog.

Artist In Passing
Christine Kessler

Artwork by Christine Kessler.
Photo at TOM House by Stuart Sandford, 2014.

Christine Kessler passed away on May 29th, 2014. Family and friends came to TOM House — where Christine once lived — to commemorate her life. She is missed a million times over.

Christine not only took thousands and thousands of photographs as her art, she also took hundreds and hundreds of photographs of other artists' work, documenting ToFF's Permanent Collection.

From ToFF's Dispatch, Fall 2002: THE FETISH BALL Tom of Finland Foundation hosted seven fetish photographers June 2002 with an exhibition of their works for one night only. Dave Naz, Christine Kessler, Gary & Pierre Silva, Steven Diet Goedde, Ben Hoffman, Miguel Angel Reyes, and Reno Larson were each provided with a room dedicated to exhibiting their works, plus several common rooms for group exhibitions. The affair was attended by several hundred fetish enthusiasts who were given an opportunity to experience the works of the guest artists, and to view the Foundation's permanent collection of over 150 works on exhibit.

More on TOM's Blog.

Seta Grants Itella Posti Honorable Mention Award For
Apple of Good Information

Credit: Itella Posti. Artwork: TOM OF FINLAND © 1979 Tom of Finland Foundation

Seta grants Itella Posti the Apple of Good Information honorable mention. Itella Posti's stamp collection featuring Tom of Finland is a "significant cultural achievement and an example of how a company can positively use the ideas of sexual orientation and gender diversity in its business operations".

Graphic designer Timo Berry designed the stamps and Tom of Finland Foundation applied for the topic with the stamp committee.

"— it is important to us that Finnish stamps live with the times and depict diverse topics. These Tom of Finland stamps raise awareness of a Finnish artist whose art has contributed to the promotion of sexual equality", says Itella Posti's Development Director.

More on TOM's Blog.

Dome Of Finland
Talks About Neo-Nazis And An Iconic Gay Artist

Dome Karukoski in 2009. Photo: Helsinki-filmi, Jan Granström

"In the early 1980s, the young Dome Karukoski, born with the first names Thomas August George as the son of an American poet and a Finnish journalist, arrived from Cyprus in rural Finland without speaking the language. Because of his name and his perceived status as a foreigner, he was bullied by his schoolmates into his teenage years and is very open about this experience when discussing the comparable character of Ramadhani in Heart of a Lion.

"In Heart of a Lion, the protagonist is a member of a neo-Nazi gang, or 'club,' and seems to reconsider his fixation on ethnic purity when he comes to accept Ramadhani, whose father is black. But a combination of two scenes in the middle of the film demonstrates how Karukoski organizes his material to create a sense of complexity that, he admits, also aims to produce a bigger emotional experience because it '[puts] the audience in a head lock.'

"The loner will take center stage again in his next film, The Grump (Mielensäpahoittaja), which premieres in the autumn. It is based on the eponymous book by Tuomas Kyrön, whose title character is an 80-year-old man who constantly complains that the world around him keeps changing. This comedy is tied to Heart of a Lion, however, in its presentation of a character angry with a world that doesn't stay the same, and it also anticipates the criticism his subsequent big-budget film, Tom of Finland, a biopic about the late gay artist Touko Laaksonen who is one of the country's most famous names abroad, is sure to provoke at home among some of Finland's more conservative inhabitants."

Read the complete article by André Crous on Prague Post

More on TOM's Blog.

Prepping For The TOM Exhibition At The
Finnish Postal Museum

Durk Dehner, president ToFF; Kimmo Antila, director, Postal Museum;
Susanna Luoto, representative, ToFF; going over Tom of Finland artwork for display.

Not only a new exhibition, but Sealed with a Secret - Correspondence of Tom of Finland will be Museum Centre Vapriikki's first exhibition, opening September 6, 2014. Museum Centre Vapriikki is the new Finnish Postal Museum, opening just in time for the issuance of the Tom of Finland stamps.

Tom of Finland produced more than 3,500 images during his career. The two appearing on the stamp sheet are both untitled and date from the late '70s. They encapsulate the self-aware, unapologetic and proud archetypes of Tom of Finland as well as the photorealistic and black & white toned aesthetics of his eloquent signature.

More on TOM's Blog.

Dearest Friend,

From the Tom of Finland stamp set
released by Finland's postal service, Itella Posti
© 1979 Tom of Finland Foundation

Our love letter to you.

One of the earliest ways that Tom of Finland's work found its way into the hands of viewers was through the postal service.

Today, we're sending you this special message, and we hope that you'll consider it our love letter to you for the support you've given us.

We love your support.

So far this year, here's what your support has helped us to achieve.

We facilitated showings of Tom's work at esteemed exhibitions in Oslo, Switzerland and Los Angeles. Tom's work also found wider exposure in other forms, including a new edition of Taschen's Tom of Finland — The Complete Kake Comics and even the production of DIY cross-stitching kits from Australian designer Pearler.

We've also continued to cultivate the next generation of erotic artists, via running our 10th Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Competition (currently accepting submissions), regular erotic Drawing Workshops, and more. And, with your help, we've in turn assisted our community, hosting and supporting local queer organizations and events.

No wonder why we love your support.

From Tom of Finland Foundation, with love.

This September, an exhibition in Finland will feature a selection of Tom's letters, showcasing Tom's own skills as a letter writer. The exhibition will coincide with the release of the highly-anticipated set of Tom of Finland stamps. Initiated by ToFF and produced by Finland's postal service Itella Posti, we think they're the perfect stamps for sending your own love letters.

We have other future projects of interest to you, a valued lover of Tom's work. These include a new website, an exhibition of Tom's comics in Finland, a major international travelling exhibition of Tom's work, and more. But your help is vital not only to these projects, but to our ongoing programs and operation. With this love letter, can we tempt you to join, renew your membership or upgrade to another membership level? Remember, your contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

With your support, let's ensure that Tom's work is honored and loved for years to come.

With love,

Durk Dehner — President & Cofounder
S. R. Sharp — VP | Curator

For A Look At The Entire Year, Visit The
F O U N D A T I O N     C A L E N D A R

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