"Jake Tanner." 1994. Graphite on paper. Signed and dated on the lower left.

12 1/4 x 9".

Notes:

Olaf Odegaard (1938–1997), professionally known as simply Olaf, was an American erotic illustrator, writer, and playwright. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Carroll University where he majored in English and theater studies before briefly attending the Harvard Divinity School. He received his MFA in playwriting from the University of Hawaii.

By the late 1960s, Olaf had moved to San Francisco and immersed himself in the countercultural scene. In his graphic work, Olaf often drew inspiration from the leather subculture of San Francisco’s South of Market district. In the early 1970s, he spent several years living in rural Wisconsin. It was during this period that Olaf shifted his artistic focus toward erotic illustration and “concentrated on developing techniques of pencil drawing.” [1]

Writing for the Bay Area Reporter, the photographer and curator Mark I. Chester summarized Olaf’s work: “His photo-realistic style is tempered by a trend toward surrealism. Odegaard creates almost a surreal smoothness to the texture of skin. Equally as important is the play of light that molds and envelopes his tightly muscled subjects in a crisscrossing web of light and shadow.” [2]

Olaf is best known for his detailed and stylized erotic illustrations of men, particularly devils and satyrs. Through his BDSM imagery he has explored fantasy, mythology and same-sex desire. In 1996, the Tom of Finland Company released Beasts and Beauties: The Erotic Art of Olaf, a major survey of his work.

Olaf passed away in 1997, leaving behind a body of work that is now held in institution collections such as the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago, and the Tom of Finland Foundation. 

[1] "Centerfold/The Art of Olaf", Drummer Issue 22 (1978), page 48. 

[2] Mark I. Chester, "Artist Olaf Odengaard in Town", Bay Area Reporter Volume 17, Number 4 (22 January 1987), page 38.

Excellent condition.

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