My work in MASCULAR magazine

Stopping in from MASCULAR magazine? Welcome! If you haven't checked out MASCULAR, follow this link and enjoy. http://www.mascular.co.uk/Magazine/Issue3.Autumn2012/Mascular3
Tom

Garrett

It's in the cards

So, like what you see? Want to have some of my art/photos on a set of greeting cards? Hit me up, let me know what images you like and we'll talk. I think it would be $11 for four cards with envelopes, same image. Send me an email at taoakley@gmail.com and we can chat about the deets.

Welcome People of Tumblr!

There is more, more I tell you.

A great day out in the D.

Another opening, another show.

Great crowd on opening night.

Mr O-Face and Mr IML's butt greeted people as they came in

Information on the Show in Ann Arbor

Tom of Findlay presents:  A Collection of Manly Men & Burly Bears will be shown at the
SH\aut \Gallery and Cabaret in Braun Court. The show is a collection of erotic work from the artist, featuring photographs and sculpture. The show will feature photos of this year’s International Mr. Leather Adam “Woody” Woodruff and a variety of other hirsute and muscular men. 

The show opens on June 29, 2012 with an opening reception on Saturday, June 30^th from 8 to 10 pm. It will run from June 29^th thru July 18^th 2012 and is open Fri/Sat 6 pm to 12 am and Sun thru Thurs 6 pm to 10 pm. Please note that this show is recommended for mature audiences. 

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the artwork will benefit the Jim Toy Community Center in Ann Arbor.

Tom of Findlay is Jackson (MI) artist Tom McMillen-Oakley who chose Tom of Findlay as his nom de plume as a shout out to the gay artist Tom of Finland. McMillen-Oakley was born in Findlay, Ohio and has exhibited artwork all over the state and was most recently an artist in 2011’s Art Prize in Grand Rapids, MI. For more on the artist, please visit http://reddragonstudio.blogspot.com/

Venue:

SH\aut\ Gallery and Cabaret

325 Braun Ct. Ann Arbor, MI 48104

(734) 994-3677
http://goo.gl/maps/lBPb

Artist:

Tom McMillen-Oakley

taoakley@gmail.com

517 416 0410

Reality TV

Several of you have asked about the sculpture that I am behind in my cover picture, it is a piece at our local art and history museum and is a kid (and big kid!) favorite. It’s called Reality T.V.

It’s a welded steel piece by Toledo artist Todd Kime. At one point, the piece was for sale for $7500, but I think it is now part of the museum’s permanent collection.

More on the museum here: http://www.ellasharp.org/

Serendipity Magazine

If you are stopping by because of Serendipity Magazine, let me say welcome! And thanks to Sia for making this happen. If you would, leave a comment and let me know where you are in the world. I know that Sia's efforts reach many people around the globe, so I'd love to know where you all are coming from.

If you didn't come here from Sia's great on line journal, do yourself a favor and check it out here: http://free.yudu.com/item/details/515809/Serendipity-Magazine---Symbols-in-Art---Vol.I-Issue4
My stuff is on page 80.

Thanks!

More of Jason K.

Call me Depeche Mode, because I just can't get enough.

Jason K

Say no more.

Getting away with it

I hate myself for my last entry at the Gallery Project. The theme of the show was “American Dream” and for a while, I struggled with what to submit for this rather open call for art.

But is it art?

In the end, I punted and dusted off a piece that has hung in our laundry room for years. It’s a washboard from my grandmother with a vintage photo of a strapping young man from a long time ago attached to it by a magnet. He’s in shape and you can see most of this ribs as well as his abdomen. I loved the photo, don’t remember where I got it, but he’s been hanging by a magnet on the board for about a decade.
I have called it “Washboard Abs” in my mind, never really considering it a piece of serious art, rather a thematic decoration for our laundry room. I photographed it and submitted it to the curators of the show and they decided it was okay for the show.

I sheepishly took it down and spent more time cleaning the piece than I ever did actually creating it. But I felt it did speak to our desire as a society to have a perfectly flat belly and washboard abs. Turn on the TV any morning and you’ll see countless devices and diets helping you towards that goal. The show was a critical success once again, receiving several reviews from the local press.

I decided to not get all serious with my artist’s statement for the show, instead opting for a more art history approach:

AMERICAN DREAM:

Washboard Abs

Thomas McMillen-Oakley

An obsession that has spanned the millennia.

                        

To quote Uncle Andy: Art is what you can get away with. Word.

Artwork in situ

So here are some shots from friends and family showing my artwork in its final resting place.
First up, the photo Tod took with his phone's camera. I tweeked it in Photoshop and sent it off to be made into a canvas print. We have one, as well as the grandparents.

And then this, a bowl purchased by a friend hanging under another local artist.

And yes, the card catalog is TO DIE FOR!

Clicky for animated goodness.