Olaf | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | December 25, 1997 | (aged 59)
Nationality | American |
Known for | Erotic drawing |
Olaf Odegaard (December 15, 1938 – December 25, 1997), better known by his pen name Olaf,[1] was an American artist and playwright active in the latter half of the twentieth century, known for his homoerotic illustrations.[2]
Olaf's art explores themes such as the devil, satyrs, and BDSM, including master/slave relationships.[2] He is most well known for his graphite pencil drawings.[2]
Olaf was born in Wisconsin.[2] He graduated from Carroll College in Waukesha in 1961.[3] Olaf was actively involved in campus life at university.[4] He variously wrote, directed, crewed, or starred in multiple theater productions including Macbeth,[5] The Lady's Not For Burning,[6] and Rashomon.[7][4][8] He joined the Phi Theta Pi fraternity in 1958[5] became president of Alpha Psi Omega in 1960,[9] and won numerous awards and honors for art and theater.[10][11][6] In 1961, he won second place in the President's Cup oratory contest for a speech in which he "suggested that pornographic or "sick" humor is gradually replacing clever satire."[10] That same year, Olaf and several classmates appeared on the television show "About Faces."[6]
Olaf continued his education at Harvard Divinity School and the University of Tokyo, after which he obtained a Master of Fine Arts in play-writing from the University of Hawaii.[2][3]
Olaf's erotic artwork gained prominence through features in Drummer magazine.[12][13] In 1985, 30 of his erotic illustrations were published in Personals: Only Real Men Need Reply by Glenlee Enterprises; a portion of all sales from the book were donated to charity for AIDS victims.[14]
In 1986, Olaf organized Naked Eyes, an artist showcase highlighting gay men's visual art for the International Gay and Lesbian Archives.[15] His art was also exhibited at Fey-Way Studios.[16]
Olaf reportedly lived a solitary life and struggled with housing insecurity.[2][12] However, he developed close relationships with Jim Kepner and Durk Dehner, both of whom supported Olaf at times to prevent him from becoming homeless.[2] With Dehner's help, Olaf moved into a home in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.[12]
In 1996, Dehner and the Tom of Finland Company published a 64-page book of Olaf's work entitled Beasts and Beauties: The Erotic Art of Olaf.[2][17]
The Tom of Finland Foundation proclaimed Olaf to be the "erotic master of the graphite pencil"[2] and one of the "greats" among Tom of Finland, Etienne, and Domino.[12]
Olaf's remaining works were sold upon his death to fund his nephew's education.[2] Although much of his art entered private collections,[18][12] some of his works were acquired by the Leather Archives & Museum,[19] ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, and Tom of Finland Foundation.[2][20][15][1]
In 2015, Olaf's art was featured in The Stonewall Nation, a book and film by Sille Storihle exploring the history of the Stonewall Nation movement.[20][21] Chuck Conner and Sean Platter cited Olaf as an inspiration for their 2008 comic series DEMONICSEX.[22][23]
In 2016 Olaf's work was featured in a retrospective by the GLBT Historical Society entitled "Stroke: From Under the Mattress to the Museum Walls."[18] That same year he also featured in Cock, Paper, Scissors, an exhibition and book published by the ONE Archives in collaboration with the Leslie-Lohman Museum.[24][25]