Boy, did I sell Dennis Bell short. Bell, the owner of the entire Athletic Model Guild catalogue, is the visionary founder of the Bob Mizer Foundation. With a crew of volunteers, he's been cataloguing and preserving the nearly one million negatives, photographs and those fabulous and campy video tapes that make up the Bob Mizer archives. His latest means of marketing these invaluable goods is to revive AMG's "Physique Pictorial."
Did I want such a thing? I was unsure. I own too much stuff already. There are the DVD reissues of AMG short films, and a shelf-load of photo collections, including several Mizer monographs, and big coffee-table books like the full color "Bob's World," a box set reprinting all the "Physique Pictorials," and the impressive two volume boxed set, "AMG: 1000 Model Directory." I'm so Mizered up that I thought I could stand having less Mizerables. And that's why I sorta ignored the launch of Bell's resurrected "Physique Pictorial," which comes a full 27 years after the last issue. For the record, this "Official Quarterly of the Bob Mizer Foundation" is issue #42. It's hardly just one more in that long, fondly remembered line, though. In terms of its form and content, it's a brand new day.
The mag's price is $25 per issue. With postage for mail order, the total would be $29. You may think that's kinda expensive. I did, and that's why I nearly overlooked it.
But I'm glad I went to get a hands-on look at The Magazine on Larkin Street, where it's in stock, and yours without postage. It's a large 6.5 x 9 inches, with 84 pages of heavyweight matte paper showcasing its black-and-white photography, plus thoroughly unnecessary but classy French Fold covers.
I wouldn't mind if the quarterly was $15, but when you look at what photography books go for these days, it's certainly in line. With its mix of AMG classics alongside previously unpublished Mizerabilia, articles, and the presentation of current photographers, it's pretty unique. The quarterly's fine art vibe is immediately evident in its clean, modern design. It's not porn, for sure, and even its beefcake is rendered in the most high-end photos.
The quarterly's juicy features include entertaining samples of Mizer's ramblings and philosophizing, an article about the Mizer Foundation and its activities, a duo biography of The Magazine's illustrious proprietors, who have donated their building to be the Foundation's headquarters. And there's a bouquet of goodies.
Each issue will have a section dedicated to a popular AMG model. This first time, it's John Apache, known as the Apache Kid, in eight pages of previously unpublished photos. I'm glued to one of them in particular. We're told the Kid was one of the few models Mizer ever allowed in his home. That single full-page photo shows the moody model veiling his goods in a mesh bikini brief perhaps reveals the reason why.
There's a section titled "Sailors," which revisits a classic AMG theme with a photo of a faux sailor, and follows up with an erotic reminiscence of some real life sailor-ific encounters.
And I was delighted with the scurrilous section called "Mugged," which delivers on facing pages an AMG model's physique shot, and the mug shot taken at the police department when the former model was booked for some misdeed.
Among the contemporary photographers represented is Josh McNey with a gallery appropriately titled "Lines of Beauty." These are contemplative studies, with a reserved sexuality. In an interview alongside the photos, McNey nails Mizer's artistic legacy:
"In addition to the social and legal ramifications of his work, his masculine archetypes and the models themselves defined the aesthetics for anyone who works in the field."
Testifying to McNey's declaration are the photographs of Josh Paul Thomas. He's a 32-year-old native of Healdsburg, and now based in LA, where we're told he adheres to "a strict routine of working out, shooting guys, and screenwriting." Thomas' work is close to the AMG ethos, but with a contemporary context of taboo and objectification. Think Mizer's tattooed and mischievous bad boys, updated with sharp lighting and a jaunty mood.
There's a true treasure trove in the ten-page segment of finely rendered, never-before-seen photos by a Mizer peer, 1950's physique photographer Denny Denfield. To avoid the police persecution that plagued Mizer, Denfield never sold any of his photos. It's some sort of miracle that the negatives for these images still exist. Denfield's nudes contrast smooth, supple bodies with rugged outdoor environments.
And did I mention that each issue is a limited edition? When a run is sold out, that's it. No re-issues. I've got copy 554 out of 1,000. They're going, going, gone.
www.BobMizer.org