Micha Ramakers employs a combination of methods from the arts, sciences and culture studies to offer a fascinating insight into his work. Illustrated throughout, this is a lively and highly readable work about the functioning of gay porn.

Reviews

"Ramakers, an art historian [based] in Belgium, surveys the career of Tom of Finland, the nom de gay of Touko Laaksonen, born in Finland . . . Astutely delineating Tom's influences—from Renaissance religious art to the work of Paul Cadmus, Charles Demuth, and Kenneth Anger—Ramakers places his subject in the context of both high and commercial art . . . His discussion of Tom's idealized view of masculinity and its relationship to state-sponsored art of the Third Reich is nuanced and illuminating."—"Publishers Weekly"
"Tom of Finland has evolved from one of the 20th century's most prolific under-the-radar pornographers to a gay cultural icon. ["Dirty Pictures"], lavishly illustrated with his most characteristic work, explores the underlying constructs of masculinity in his work and its ramifications within gay male culture."--"Frontiers"
""Dirty Pictures" works on a number of levels. As a reevaluation of the art of Touko Laaksonen, it succeeds admirably; as a di