Robert Henry Mizer (March 27, 1922 â€" May 12, 1992), known as Bob
Mizer, was an American photographer and filmmaker, known for pushing
boundaries of depicting male homoerotic content with his work in the
mid 20th century.Bob Mizer’s earliest photographs appeared in 1942,
in both color and black and white, but his career was catapulted into
infamy in 1947 when he was convicted of the unlawful distribution of
obscene material through the US mail. The material in question was a
series of black and white photographs, taken by Mizer, of young
bodybuilders wearing what were known as posing strapsâ€"a precursor to
the G-string. He served a nine-month prison sentence at a work camp in
Saugus, California, for what now seems tame. At the time, male
near-nudity was not only frowned upon, but illegal.In spite of
societal expectations and pressure from law enforcement, Mizer built a
veritable empire on his beefcake photographs and films. He established
the influential studio, the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) in 1945, but by
the time he published the first issue of Physique Pictorial he was
operating the studio on his own at his home near downtown Los Angeles.
He photographed thousands of men, building a collection that includes
nearly two million different images and thousands of films and
videotapes.In the 1950s, several other photographers were doing
similar work, such as Alonzo Hanagan in New York City, Douglas of
Detroit, Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild in Denver, and, on
the West Coast, Russ Warner in Oakland and Dave Martin in San
Francisco.
Mizer, was an American photographer and filmmaker, known for pushing
boundaries of depicting male homoerotic content with his work in the
mid 20th century.Bob Mizer’s earliest photographs appeared in 1942,
in both color and black and white, but his career was catapulted into
infamy in 1947 when he was convicted of the unlawful distribution of
obscene material through the US mail. The material in question was a
series of black and white photographs, taken by Mizer, of young
bodybuilders wearing what were known as posing strapsâ€"a precursor to
the G-string. He served a nine-month prison sentence at a work camp in
Saugus, California, for what now seems tame. At the time, male
near-nudity was not only frowned upon, but illegal.In spite of
societal expectations and pressure from law enforcement, Mizer built a
veritable empire on his beefcake photographs and films. He established
the influential studio, the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) in 1945, but by
the time he published the first issue of Physique Pictorial he was
operating the studio on his own at his home near downtown Los Angeles.
He photographed thousands of men, building a collection that includes
nearly two million different images and thousands of films and
videotapes.In the 1950s, several other photographers were doing
similar work, such as Alonzo Hanagan in New York City, Douglas of
Detroit, Don Whitman of Western Photography Guild in Denver, and, on
the West Coast, Russ Warner in Oakland and Dave Martin in San
Francisco.
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