ΤΑ ΦΙΛΑΝΔΙΚΑ ΤΑΧΥΔΡΟΜΕΙΑ ΤΙΜΟΥΝ ΤΟΝ TOM OF FINLAND

Tom of Finland to appear on stamps in September 

posti.fi 13.04.2014 
Confident and proud homoeroticism 

The autumn's stamp series begins September 8 with Tom of Finland, who is considered one of the most well-known Finnish artists around the world. His emphatically masculine homoerotic drawings have attained iconic status in their genre and had an influence on, for instance, pop culture and fashion. In his works, Tom of Finland utilized the self-irony and humor typical of subcultures. 

 During his career, Tom of Finland produced more than 3,500 drawings. The two drawings on the stamp sheet were selected by graphic artist Timo Berry, who designed the stamp, andSusanna Luoto, the Finnish representative of the foundation named after Tom of Finland operating in Los Angeles. 
The drawings on the stamp sheet represent strong and confident male figures typical of their designer. "The sheet portrays a sensual life force and being proud of oneself. There is never too much of that in this northern country," says Timo Berry. The miniature sheet contains three 1st class self-adhesive stamps. 

 The artist behind Tom of Finland was Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991), whose profile is extended in the exhibition Sealed with a Secret - Correspondence of Tom of Finland opening in the Postal Museum September 6. The exhibition will display the busy correspondence of Laaksonen from the early 1940s to his dying year, 1991. The exhibition will be displayed until March 29, 2015, in Museum Centre Vapriikki in the new Postal Museum to be opened in Tampere in September.