MOCA presents Bob Mizer & Tom of Finland, the first American museum exhibition devoted to the art of Bob Mizer (1922-1992) and Touko Laaksonen, aka “Tom of Finland” (1920-1991), two of the most significant figures of twentieth century erotic art and forefathers of an emergent post-war gay culture. The exhibition features a selection of Tom of Finland’s masterful drawings and collages, alongside Mizer’s rarely seen photo-collage “catalogue boards” and films, as well as a comprehensive collection of his groundbreaking magazine Physique Pictorial, where drawings by Tom were first published in 1957.
Exhibition on going, Pacific Design Center, 11.02.13 – 01.26.14.
Bob Mizer | Physique Pictorial Volume 16 Number 4. Publication on February 1968, printed with permission of Bob Mizer Foundation, inc.Bob Mizer | Physique Pictorial Volume 11 Number 4. This was the first publication of Tom of Finland on May 1962 printed with premission of Bob Mizer Fondation, inc.
Bob Mizer | Untitled [Ray Hornsby, with Skull Staff], Los Angeles, c. 1957. Bob Mizer | Untitled [Ray Hornsby, with Skull Staff], Los Angeles, c. 1957. Bob Mizer | Untitled [Ray Hornsby, with Skull Staff], Los Angeles, c. 1957. Vintage large-format black and white negative Silver gelatin print 8 x 10 inches printed with permission of Bob Mizer Foundation, Inc.Bob Mizer | Untitled [Dennis Lavia Seated in Garage], Los Angeles, c. 1964. Vintage large-format black and white negative Silver gelatin print 8 x 10 inches printed with permission of Bob Mizer Foundation, Inc.