Back in the fifties and early sixties, if you were a latent queer in the closet, you'd probably be fulfilling your erotic fantasies by thumbing through the men's underwear ads in the Sears catalogue.
The more adventurous dudes probably drifted into seedy book stores on the bad side of town to flip through "underground" magazines in search of the highly-sexed captivating male images fathomed up by artist Tom of Finland.
His boner-inducing portraits were quite - and still are - recognizable.
They stood out from the "meat rack", after all.
Finland tended to focus on macho male stereotypes (motorcycle cops, lumberjacks, high-school football jocks) who he depicted with exaggerated "guns" (biceps), bulging crotches (usually packed in skin-tight jeans or leather pants) and rugged square-jaws.
For sure, Finland was a pioneer in the field.
This coming weekend the annual Tom of Finland "Erotic Art Fair" is slated to kick-off at Plummer Park in West Hollywood (September 28th - September 30th).
Once again, the popular high-profile event is endorsed by the West Hollywood City Council.
"There are very few communities in America where erotic Art can be displayed in such a way that the community is supportive of that presentation," underscored John Duran (Council Member) in a recent press release.
The opening night party is to be held at Tom of Finland's home in Echo Park on Friday September 28th.
Over the course of the two-day week-end 50 artists from around the globe are expected to turn-up to show off their - um - wares!
A $10.00 donation at the door includes cocktails and canapes.
See 'ya there!
0 comments:
Post a Comment