Homoerotic Art Goes Postal

Finland’s postal service is celebrating homoerotic art. Their most recent commemorative stamp design will present a bevy of barely dressed and leather-clad muscle men based on 33 different works by the Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen, commonly known as Tom of Finland. “The sheet (of stamps) portrays a sensual life force and being proud of oneself,” graphic designer Tim Berry, who helped select the images, said. Laaksonen’s portrayal of gay sex and relationships has been unabashedly celebrated in the gay community and art world. The stamp’s debut will coincide with a solo exhibition of Laaksonen’s work, Sealed with a Secret: Correspondence of Tom of Finland, at Finland’s Postal Museum.