FeedHomotopia Liverpool Features Tom of Finland Retrospective
Written by NetBear on November 3, 2008 – 7:46 pm -From Liverpool with love! Homotopia is Liverpool’s annual celebration of Queer Culture. It’s a dedicated perspective of events by and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. This year the event features a major art retrospective dedicated to the erotic artist Tom of Finland.
Homotopia is a bold and ambitious festival featuring a variety of events including theatre, film, art, performance, photography, heritage and storytelling. So the legendary works of Tom of Finland fit into that motif like one of Tom’s men fits into his leather chaps.
This exhibition is a major retrospective (1944-1989) of 60 works on paper by legendary gay artist Touko Laaksonen, aka “Tom,” who was born in Finland in 1920.
At the age of five, Touko began to spy on a neighbor, a muscular, farm boy whose name, “Urho”, means “hero”. Urho was the first in a long line of heroes to hold Tom’s attention while he memorized every flex of their lean muscles, every humorous twist of their full lips.
In 1939, Touko went to art school in Helsinki to study advertising. His fascination expanded to include the construction workers, sailors, policemen and other sexy city types he found there.
The show includes 25 of the artist’s most iconic works, each one representing one of the twenty-five years his foundation has been at the helm of preserving, protecting and promoting the erotic arts.
The TOF Retrospective runs from September 20th through November 30th at The Crypt, Contemporary Urban Centre, Greenland St (Off Upper Parliament St), L1. Tuesday – Sunday 10am until 5pm.
There’s a whole lot more to Homotopia 2008. Visit their web site to learn about all the other events that will be happening during the festival.