shame``

76
Spring 2015
THE
MIGHTY
FINN
Artist rugs are nothing new – but Henzel
Studio’s collection based on Tom of
Finland’s homoerotic drawings pushes
the boundaries. Natasha Randall reports
77
Issue 38
02
03
01 Tom of Finland,
Untitled, 1978. Henzel
Studio Heritage.
Hand knotted rug,
Himalayan wool &
silk. Free-form, 2.15
x 2.4m. © Tom of
Finland Foundation
02 Tom of Finland,
Untitled, 1977. Henzel
Studio Heritage.
Hand tufted rug, New
Zealand wool. 1.7
x 2.45m. © Tom of
Finland Foundation
03 The original Tom
of Finland drawing,
1977 © Tom of Finland
Foundation
T
his season the Swedish rug maker Henzel Studio is
launching Henzel Studio Heritage, a new collection of
carpets designed in collaboration with the foundations
of some of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
Starting with Tom of Finland, the rugs feature homoerotic
scenes as illustrated by the artist. With last year’s release of
Tom of Finland stamps by the Finnish Post Office, a number of
museum exhibitions as well as a biopic in the works, the timing
is spot on.
Bound to cause a frisson in the world of rugs, the collection
will have its debut at Colette Gallery on Rue Faubourg
Saint-Honoré in Paris this spring, opening on 23 March. In the
words of Henzel Studio’s curator, Joakim Andreasson, ‘these
images have gone from under the covers to the chic-est street
in the world.’
Henzel has tended towards the rug-as-art form since the
company’s inception in 1999, following the vision of Calle
Henzel and producing several artist-designed rugs curated
by Andreasson. Henzel Studio Collaborations oversees these
projects, allowing its guest designers maximum creative
licence. It has thus brought into floor textiles designs by
creators such as Helmut Lang, Anselm Reyle, Marilyn Minter,
Jürgen Teller and Jack Pierson. The resulting rugs are bold
expressions of the artist’s oeuvre.
Nudes on rugs are not new to the team. Teller’s bare portrait
of UK fashion designer Vivienne Westwood caused quite a stir.
Whereas the Westwood carpet originated from a photograph,
the majority of Tom of Finland’s rugs are based on his beautiful
‘‘
His goal was
to portray gay
men as happy and
confident, and
to remove any
shame
’’
78
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04
05
08
preparatory sketches, many of which have never been
publicly displayed.
Tom of Finland, born Touko Laaksonen in 1920, is widely
regarded as one of the most influential artists of recent times
due to his revolutionary representation of the male figure. He
became legendary for his erotic gay scenes, portraying
nude and leather-clad men with exaggerated sex organs.
He is understood to have influenced Freddie Mercury,
Robert Mapplethorpe and other gay public figures in the
late 20th century. His goal was to show gay men as
happy and confident, and to remove any shame associated
with homosexuality, creating an empowering queer
iconography.
07
04 Original Tom of
Finland artwork, 1980.
© Tom of Finland
Foundation
05 Tom of Finland,
Untitled, 1980. Henzel
Studio Heritage.
Hand tufted rug, New
Zealand wool, 1.65 x
2m. © Tom of Finland
Foundation
06 Tom of Finland,
Untitled, 1979. Henzel
Studio Heritage. Hand
tufted rug, New
06
Zealand wool, 1.7
x 2.45m. © Tom of
Finland Foundation
07 Original Tom of
Finland artwork, 1979.
© Tom of Finland
Foundation
08 Collages of original
Tom of Finland
artworks, used for
‘art pillow’ designs,
Henzel Studio
Heritage. © Tom of
Finland Foundation
UNDERGROUND NOTORIETY
In his early career, many of Tom’s images were deemed illicit
and, as such, gained an underground notoriety. Increasingly,
though, his work was published in the mainstream, in
magazines such as Physique Pictorial – particularly those
images that did not contain explicit sexual acts but depicted
strong, athletic, square-jawed, broad-shouldered men. His
subjects were cops, sailors, soldiers, cowboys, bikers and
lifeguards. Often he drew from a variety of different life models
to create his quasi-fantastical males.
Laaksonen explained in a documentary film about his work
(called Daddy and the Muscle Academy) that much of his
inspiration came from his youth in Finland. At that time the
country was highly militarised, after a civil war and in reaction
to its aggressive Soviet neighbour, and national service was
compulsory for young men. So, as an adolescent he was
surrounded by soldiers in uniform, marching with a sort of
patriotism that Laaksonen found appealing.
Tom of Finland died of complications from emphysema in
1991, but his residence and archive have been maintained as
a centre for the homoerotic arts. With regard to the Henzel
rug series, Andreasson says, ‘This was bringing to light rarely
seen drawings that particularly suit the textile medium. We are
always adamant to not just slap artwork on a product. It is an
art-rug collection and not a rug collection reproducing art.’
There are twelve hand tufted rugs in the collection and
one hand knotted carpet, all made from silk and wool. Many
of them depict explicit scenes of a sexual nature – including
one that has informally been coined the ‘f**k rug’ (for obvious
reasons). ‘It was important to stay true to the artist’s body of
work, regardless of content’, says Andreasson.
Reimagining these images as rugs was directly inspired
by the interiors of the Tom of Finland Foundation, or ‘TOM
House’, as it’s known – pictures and collages are plastered
randomly on the walls and integrated into the furnishings in a
way that is both homely and titillating. ‘It’s a kind of gay utopia,
a place that has been shaped by the many artists who have
walked through its doors,’ Andreasson says. One of the first
of the Henzel rugs is now in the house: a tactile reminder of
Tom of Finland.
byhenzel.com
tomoffinland.com
‘Henzel Studio: Collaborations/Heritage. Limited edition
art rugs and pillows’, Colette Gallery, 213 Rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris, 23 March-18 April 2015