Tom
of Finland XXL
Bigger Is Better: The Ultimate Tom of Finland
“It’s not a coffee table book - it IS a coffee table!”
 A whopping 11.4 inches! (wide) |
At 11.4 x 15.9 in. and 666 pages, Tom of Finland XXL contains over 1,000 images, covering six decades of the artist's career. The work was gathered from collections across the US and Europe with the help of the Tom of Finland Foundation, and features many drawings, paintings and sketches never previously reproduced. Other images have only been seen out of context and are presented here in the sequential order Tom intended for full artistic appreciation and erotic impact. This elegant oversized volume showcases the full range of Tom's talent, from sensitive portraits to frank sexual pleasure to tender expressions of love and haunting tributes to young men struck down by AIDS. In 1998, TASCHEN introduced the world to the masterful art of Touko Laaksonen with The Art of Pleasure. Prior to that, Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, enjoyed an intense cult following in the international gay community but was largely unknown to the broader audience. The Art of Pleasure gave Tom well-deserved recognition and increased his following exponentially; Tom of Finland XXL will fix him forever in the realm of fine art. |
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Completing this collector's edition are eight specially commissioned essays on Tom's social and personal impact by Camille Paglia, John Waters, Armistead Maupin, Todd Oldham, Durk Dehner and others, plus a scholarly analysis of individual drawings by art historian Edward Lucie-Smith. For the man — or woman — who thinks bigger is better, Tom of Finland XXL is certain to satisfy. Tom of Finland XXL
About the editor
Dian Hanson was born in Seattle in 1951. She has been TASCHEN's sexy book editor since 2001. Prior to that she worked for 25 years producing various men's magazines. Her many books for TASCHEN include The Complete Kake Comics, The Big Book of Breasts, and The Big Penis Book. She lives in Los Angeles. About the authors Edward Lucie-Smith was born in 1933 in Kingston,
Jamaica, and schooled at Oxford. He has published over 100 books,
including Sexuality in Western Art and Latin American Art of the
20th Century. He lives in London and travels extensively. Lucie-Smith
received the Tom of Finland Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
in 2005. Durk Dehner was instrumental in bringing Tom out of the underground and focusing public attention on his work. The two co-founded the Tom of Finland Foundation in 1984 as an archive for Tom's work and life history. He continues as head of the Foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and has expanded it to provide a refuge for all forms of erotic art.
"The scenes of moustachioed men, straining out of their jeans
and into each other, divide people - some think it's crass while
others think it's really rather hot. For those who fall in the later
category, Tom's prodigious output can now be found in one big book
from TASCHEN, the incredibly stylish coffee-table book people, that
covers all six decades of his career...Love him or loathe him, Tom
is forever seared into our gay collective conscious. And here is
a book that proves it."
"We can't wait to add Tom of Finland XXL to our collection,
and we highly recommend you follow suit."
"This volume, tenderly and exhaustively compiled by the President
of the Tom of Finland Foundation, Durk Dehner, is a definitive compilation
of his drawings which spanning almost six decades of work, from
his early sketches that appeared in Physique Pictoral magazine in
the 1940s to his leather-bound, S&M-laced work from the 1980s."
"If you thought The Art of Pleasure was HUGE, just wait till
you see XXL! For the collector of male nude art, this is a MUST
HAVE! 15 pounds!"
“Bigger & Better, Buy It!” |
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