Bob Mizer: Vintage Physique

During the span of a near 50-year career, American photographer and filmmaker Robert Henry Mizer (b.1922 – d. 1992), universally known as Bob, has been pushing boundaries in both subject matter and medium. Famed for his groundbreaking publication, Physique Pictorial, which launched its first issue in 1951, Mizer’s unique portrayals of male figures are not only instilled with his passion, but also reflect and challenge societal notions of masculinity of post-war America.

Image caption: Bob Mizer, Untitled (Muscle Beach #30), Santa Monica, California, ca. 1949, Chromogenic print, edition 1/5, Courtesy of the Bob Mizer Foundation, M+B Gallery and New Discretions