Finnish art historian Berndt Arell has followed Tom of Finland’s art and legacy for decades. Now he is concerned about the conflict surrounding the Tom of Finland Foundation, the removal of art from TOM House and the suspension of residency activities. His harshest criticism is directed at the board: it needs to be clearer about what it wants to do with an art treasure that, according to Arell, belongs to international cultural heritage and cannot be treated as someone’s private property.
Berndt Arell has had a long relationship withTom of Finland’s art. In 2006, he was behind the exhibition atGlogalleriet in Helsinki, where 90 works were shown, many for the first time. The works had been traced back to private collections in Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. The exhibition [Unforeseen] was also accompanied by a book aboutTouko Laaksonen’s life and artistry, written by Arell and historianKati Mustola.
In 2020, Arell curated [Tom of Finland]:The Darkroom atFotografiska in Tallinn, New York and Stockholm and he co-authoredTachen Verlag’s major workTom of Finland XXL (2016). He has been the director of several art museums, including Turku Art Museum, Helsinki Art Museum, Kiasma and the National Museum in Stockholm, and has also led the Swedish Cultural Foundation. Today he works atStiftung Gut Schierensee andSchloss Plön in Germany.
So when he now speaks aboutToFF (Tom of Finland Foundation), he does so both as an art historian and as someone who has himself stayed atTOM House in Los Angeles. He remembers a home and workplace where art was everywhere, where artists lived and where visitors came for viewings and meetings.
“It was the center where people gathered. In a safe environment,” he says.
During one visit, Arell stayed in the house for two weeks. He remembers how Touko Laaksonen’s old bedroom, where he himself slept, had to be prepared every morning to be shown to new visitors. Several people were working in the attic next door, and in addition to Tom of Finland’s works, the house contained works by many other artists.
Arell believes that the new ToFF board has not been clear enough about its vision so far. He says that he does not know the new members personally, but questions their connection to ToFF’s history and to the culture from which Tom of Finland grew.
“It’s a completely different generation, which has no connection to the origin, either to the artistry or the time when it was created. I can’t see their motives at all, other than power. Power and money.”
That is Arell’s assessment today. The ToFF board has said that the move to a “secret location” will protect the artworks and make them accessible for future research and the public. The collection, they say, will be stored in a climate-controlled facility, and future work will include inventory, conservation and digitization. The board also writes that it is exploring new ways to support artists after the break in the Artist-in-Residence Program.
Despite these writings, Arell believes that more concrete information is needed about how the collection should be preserved, displayed and made available.
“They may have good intentions, but they have to tell what they are doing. It is a great international cultural heritage. No one can own it, he tells QX.
Part of his concern stems from what he saw himself when he visited the house. Arell says that he has been inside the storage container in the yard and that the works there, at that time, were well-ordered and stored in a climate-controlled, dark environment, in acid-free material. He describes it as almost museum standard.
The board has produced an external assessment to support moving the collection, and it also highlights that the property is located in an identified fire zone. Arell believes that clearer information about the basis is important to present in order to create trust.
He emphasizes that ToFF is an American foundation but with an international responsibility. And he describes the bond between Touko Laaksonen and Durk Dehner as deeply personal:
“Tom didn’t always feel comfortable in the American environment,” says Arell. But the meeting with Dehner was crucial to his life. Together they created the foundation and a place where erotic art could be preserved and displayed.”
The criticism and his defense of Dehner’s historical significance are two things he wants to highlight at the same time.
“You lose Durk, all of Durk”, says Arell and expresses concern that ToFF will lose the experience and knowledge that Dehner has accumulated over decades.And everything he owns himself, Arell adds. He owns as much as he wants himself. What has now been moved is just the public part of the collection.
When asked by QX whether it’s not time for Finland to start caring, Arell says that he sees no obvious legal way for Finland to intervene in an American foundation’s decision. Not as long as the new board follows the statutes. However, he believes that there is a moral and ethical opportunity to appeal to the board to report on how it intends to fulfill its mission. “You need to get answers from them, above all,” he says.
Despite Tom of Finland being one of Finland’s most internationally known artists, Arell has not yet seen any public reaction from Finland to the developments surrounding ToFF. This surprises him. For him, the question is not just what happens to a building in Los Angeles, but to a cultural heritage that has a strong significance for Finland as well.
He hopes that the board clearly presents its plans for the art, the archive and the artist’s activities and that it resumes dialogue with people who have been associated with the house for a long time.
“It is not the board’s private property. They have a mission to preserve and display the art. Then they must also tell how they intend to do it, he tells QX.”
Communication is key to the preservation of any organization.
On the occasion of Tom’s birth 100 years ago (2020), the brilliantTom of Finland: The Darkroom exhibition is featured in a special section ofTom of Finland: The Official Life and Work of a Gay Hero.