Tom of Finland

So, today I got to go to Logomo (Turku is chosen as European Capital of Culture this year, and Logomo is basically the heart of this where all the main cultural activities are) for free (yeah that’s the benefit of being an exchange student). It’s like a mixture of museum, exhibition and art gallery, with a lot of different things under the same roof. Some very daring exhibitions too, and the most impressive one has to be “Tom of Finland”.

“Tom of Finland” is the pseudonym of a late Finnish artist who is famous for drawings about homoerotica, androerotica to be exact. Of the pictures I saw (sorry, no photo allowed at the exhibition) they mainly feature well-built-body men with exaggerated penises during sex acts or sexual stimulations. Tom of Finland is one of the most well-known Finnish artists in the world, there’s even a foundation under his name. As I heard the exhibition has been displayed in other parts of the world like New York, Paris, etc, but this is the 1st time in Finland, so I think it’s safe to say that Finns have had some hard time recognising the value of his art too (by saying “too” I was referring to me, although that doesn’t count because I come from an Asian country with Confucius ideals dominating), but anyway, it’s made its way to the Finns in the end, and not just as art, Finns put it in their show of CULTURE as well.

I imagine how something like this would be seen in the eyes of Vietnamese authorities (given that it has been produced and has passed the social prejudice, which is equally unreal), it’s like 2 taboos in 1 package, sex and homosexuality. Like I said, it will have to come a long way before even reaching the approving stage, let alone being honored.

Just saying.