TOM HOUSE: TOM OF FINLAND IN LOS ANGELES
Published by Rizzoli
by Michael Reynolds
Essay by Mayer Rus
Photographed by Martyn Thompson
visual review by William J Simmons
CRUSHfanzine’s art editor, William J. Simmons, creates a visual review of Tom House (Rizzoli, New York 2016). Capturing his first thoughts on his favorite pages, William takes us through one of LA’s more infamous locations.
Known officially as Tom House, 1421 Laveta Terrace was where Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920–1991) lived and worked during the last decade of his life. It is an extraordinary place—equal parts frat house, haven, archive, utopian collective, community center, and den of iniquity.
The book moves from art-filled room to art-filled room, dining room to dungeon, Tom’s attic bedroom to his bar in the basement. Almost every surface of the house is covered in work made by Tom himself, or by those he influenced and inspired. Martyn Thompson’s revelatory photographs are paired with unpublished preparatory sketches and unfinished drawings. Together, the compelling images place Tom’s work in an entirely new light, inviting readers to explore a hidden world of dreams and desire—the world of Tom of Finland.
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All images within book © Tom House: Tom of Finland in Los Angeles by Michael Reynolds, Rizzoli New York, 2016
