An unusual video about the art of Tom of Finland coming to life through this unique animation method. As VHS video tapes reach the end of their life, we are working hard to digitize all 1,000 tapes in the collections of the Leather Archives & Museum. This clip is an example of the videos we have in our collection and a representation of what we. The complete adventures of Kake, Tom of Finland‘s dark-haired, mustached leatherman, who travelled the world on his motorcycle to spread the seeds of ecstatically explicit gay sex. See Tom’s own personal fantasies lived out in these 26 episodes of mustaches, muscles and liberated libido, now some of the most famous cartoons in the history.
The complete adventures of Kake, Tom of Finland’s dark-haired, mustached leatherman, who travelled the world on his motorcycle to spread the seeds of ecstatically explicit gay sex. See Tom’s own personal fantasies lived out in these 26 episodes of mustaches, muscles and liberated libido, now some of the most famous cartoons in the history of gay art.
Tom Of Finland The Complete Kake Comics Pdf
In 1965, Tom of Finland began flirting with the idea of an ongoing character for his panel stories, the ultimate Tom’s Man. He tried out a blond named Vicky—a common male name in Finland—followed by a Tarzan-inspired Jack. Then in 1968 Tom settled on Kake, a dark-haired, mustached leathermanwho often wore a tight white T-shirt bearing the motto “Fucker.” Kake lived up to this moniker, a sort of post-Stonewall, hyper-masculine Johnny Appleseed traveling the world on his motorcycle tospread the seeds of liberated, mutually satisfying, ecstatically explicit gay sex. Tom lived out many of his most personal fantasies through Kake, and Kake’s international fans made him the template for what came to be known as the gay clone look of the 1970s. Between 1968 and 1986, Tom published 26 episodes of Kake adventures, most as 20-page booklets.
Tom of Finland – The Complete Kake Comics collects all of these stories in one volume. Return with Kake to the days when men were men, sex was carefree, and everyone wore a big thick mustache.
Why have I made a Tom of Finland jewelry collection? ‘Cause it´s revolutionary!
Like Genesis Breyer P. Orridge once said, “Pleasure is a weapon!”
The collection is based on the first insigna TOM created for his Los Angeles non-profit Foundation, founded in 1984 in form of a FLYING COCK. It was drawn by TOM to symbolize the brotherhood of patrons who advocate for the preservation, protection, and promotion of the erotic arts in the same vein as his playful and subversive insignias worn proudly by the countless uniformed men he drew throughout his body of work. The collection features the FLYING COCK insignia in a variety of hand crafted pieces. The collection also features TOM’s most recognizable leather-clad character Kake – immortalized in intricate engraving – encapsulating the archetype leather man.
I designed each piece of jewelry as a special reflection of TOM’s art and his influence in the movement of sexual liberation and pleasure as a human right. The genesis of the collection began in my native Hamburg, a city where club culture and house music reign king and freedom of speech and sexuality is understood. I found myself asking, “where does this come from?” Doing research, I dug deep – past the insurgent club kids of the 80’s and 90’s and found myself at the genesis of post-war queer sexual resistance. There I found Tom of Finland. The outstanding craftsmanship of his drawings. The shameless, joyful and proud expression of sexuality without borders. Created in a time were people put his comrades in death camps. What a brave man!
In 2015 I was invited to visit Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles, and was instantly imprinted by the vast and diverse collection of homoerotic art they archive and community that has been built around it over the decades. It felt like family from the first moment, and so, we began to work on the collection, a process of two beautiful and inspiring years.
With my jewelry I want to give people a wonderful piece of pleasure, created under fair circumstances in Germany, with the highest level of craftsmanship. Pieces that everybody can wear with pride to show that they stand for openness and acceptance. One of my biggest artistic achievements has been to be able recreate a big, fat cock with wings out of solid sterling silver!
From the Reeperbahn with Love,
Jonathan Johnson
The Foundation
Dome Karukoski
(Touko Laaksonen, Finnish 1920 – 1991), is the creator of some of the most iconic and readily recognizable imagery of post-war gay culture and is regarded as one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. He produced thousands of images beginning in the 1940s, robbing straight homophobic culture of its most virile and masculine archetypes (bikers, hoodlums, lumberjacks, cops, cowboys, and sailors) and recasting them through deft skill and imagination – unapologetic, self-aware, and boastfully proud enthusiasts of gay sex.
In 1984, the nonprofit Tom of Finland Foundation was established by Durk Dehner and Touko Laaksonen. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homo-erotic art, the Foundation’s original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened to offer a safe haven for all art in response to rampant discrimination against work that portrayed sexual behavior or generated a sexual response. Today the Foundation continues in its efforts of educating the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and in promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality.
Credits
Tom Of Finland Complete Kake Comics
Photos by Josh Paul Thomas @thestudiohaus
Modeled by Tom of Finland Store Ambassador Terry Miller @terrysphots