Tour This LA Home Turned Erotic Art Museum
Nearly four decades' worth of erotic art history is on display in this Echo Park home.
I've just entered a three-story craftsman house built in 1911 that looked rather unassuming from the curb of Laveta Terrace in Echo Park. It is, however, anything but. Recognized by The City of Los Angeles as a cultural-historic monument, it is the former residence of Touko Valio Laaksonen, better known as the influential queer artist Tom of Finland, and a certified must-see hidden gem in this sprawling city.
From the foyer, there isn't a bare wall in view. Pieces of gay erotic art in its many forms cover every surface imaginable. Paintings, photographs, collages, and occasional sculptures capture the male physique in a sensually curious but natural gaze. Above is a Michelangelo-like mural with strapping male angels surrounded by clouds and rays of sunshine, their elongated and aroused bodies aimed toward the ceiling light. It is, on a much smaller scale, a version of the Sistine Chapel's famous interior, which is fitting given this space's history of worship.
Fans of the artist flock to this location to express their reverence and adoration for the highly masculinized homoerotic art in the space better known as TOM House, which acts as the operating headquarters for the Tom of Finland Foundation, a nonprofit striving to promote Tom's legacy and artistry along with other LGBTQIA+ artists of erotic art to ensure it receives the notoriety it deserves in the realm of academia and beyond.
As part of that mission, the foundation opens its doors to the public for regular tours, one of which I'm about to embark on.
Who is Tom of Finland?
"He still resonates, and if anything, he's bigger than he's ever been in pop culture, you know, in this timeframe right now," Richard Villani, current creative director for the Tom of Finland Foundation, said.
Tom began his life, as you may have surmised, in Finland. He was creatively gifted in his adolescence, having been exposed to music, art, and literature at an early age. His gaze was laser-focused at this time on a neighboring farm boy named Urho, who would eventually become one of the many gladiator-built, pierced-eye, and pouted-lip muses of his signature style.
He found further inspiration upon serving in World War II, where he encountered the type of uniformed men that would occupy his imagination. He would go on to indulge these fantasies, exploring the plump, muscular bodies he'd seen and letting his memories bolstered by creativity fuel his pen as he illustrated the male form.
As his art evolved, so did he, becoming a prominent member of Hesinki's post-war bohemian set and immersing himself in gay cruising culture. But it wasn't until the end of 1965, after being nudged by a friend, that he sent his artwork to the famous American muscle magazine Physique Pictorial under the pseudonym Tom.
What is TOM House?
After years of working as a commercial artist in Helsinki, all the while nurturing his own personal work, Tom eventually made his way to Los Angeles in the '80s. The foundation was established in 1984 by Tom and his long-time friend, Durk Dehner, who had purchased the home in 1979. Tom had been persuaded by Dehner, who admired his creations, which exuded liberation and an aura of unapologetic behavior, to relocate.
Initially, the foundation served to archive Tom's art over the years, but eventually, it expanded to become a sanctuary for even more erotic art in response to growing discrimination against anything that portrayed "sexually deviant" behavior. Many of these archives and creations are on view in the home, where art curations, programs, and community events occur.
To this day, the Tom of Finland Foundation educates the public sector regarding the respectability and value of erotic art while advocating for more tolerant perspectives around sexuality. The foundation is continually growing its permanent collection through donations of all manner of erotic artworks by artists of all genders and sexual orientations.
The foundation also offers an Artists In Residence program for creators whose craft focuses on eroticism. Over three months, they can stay in Dehner's home while creating a thesis-oriented visual project that they'll present to the public at the end of the program. During this time, they have access to the home and all of the foundation's archives.
The foundation has made an impression beyond its own welcoming walls, too, holding events in Tokyo, Berlin, Berkheim, London, and, of course, Helsinki. This pride season, Dehner was honored as the grand marshal of Helsinki's pride festivities and was even knighted by order of the White Rose of Finland.
"[Dehner] wanted [Tom's art] to be accessible to everyone. Tom was a big fan of Berlin and was a big fan of London and traveled a lot in Europe. And I think I mean, as queer people, we're not just in one area, it's not just Los Angeles," Villani said. "We're a global experience, and I think when you look at Tom's messaging for not just queer people—because I think, you know, a lot of straight women walk away with Tom—sex positivity, image positivity, what he wanted to do was instill a pride into gay men about who they were and to not have shame."
Taking the Tour
Stepping inside TOM House feels like you're suddenly experiencing a higher vibration than the outside world. Visitors are transported to a space that feels safe, bursting with creativity and community. The house also doubles as a family home for Dehner and the foundation's employees and volunteers. The property also features a "Pleasure Park" located in the backyard. It's best experienced in person with your own eyes—much like the tour—but just know it's the place to be come party time.
"'Durkheim' jokes that he created the community that he wanted. In his heart, he was a hippie and always lived in communal situations," Villani said. "It's not just about queer art and Tom of Finland. I think it's about all of us as a community."
Bearing witness to this community, Villani is both humbled and invigorated to spread the foundation's message further.
Tom's house is its own nirvana, celebrating sexual freedom and paying homage to Tom's long-standing career. It also magnifies those who continue to bring eroticism and art together and prove that sensuality and camaraderie can coexist harmoniously in the art world—a belief that Tom also held.
"It's kind of more of a like, I don't want to say a fuck you, but kind of like we're not going anywhere. [We've] definitely [sent] a very powerful message that there is no shame, and we're not going away," Villani said.