10 sexy men for Tom of Finland’s 102nd birthday
The artist known as Tom of Finland would have turned 102 this year. A pioneer of LGBTQ and erotic arts, Tom of Finland not only pushed the boundaries of homoerotic art and censorship in the 1950s and 60s, but his images became intertwined with gay culture and the gay aesthetic of the 1970s until present day.His stylized and exaggerated images of masculine men being joyfully erotic changed the way that many gay men saw themselves and their sexuality.
He was sex-positive decades before the term was invented.The importance of his work has progressively been recognized more and more in the late 20th into the 21st century.
New York’s Museum of Modern Art has several pieces in their permanent collection. Solo exhibitions of his work have been hugely popular in galleries and museums from Tokyo to Stockholm, from Berlin to Madrid.“The things he did are seen in a different light these days, more sympathetic.