ATHLETIC MODEL GUILD

Physique Pictorial was the magazine of Athletic Model Guild (AMG), the groundbreaking studio
of homo-erotic photography founded by Bob Mizer (1922-1992) in Los Angeles in 1945.
The initial goal of AMG was to act as a catalyst, between aspiring actors and models seeking
work in the Hollywood show business. But after a short, unsuccessful, period Bob transformed
AMG into the first photographic studio of the young male physique in all of its many ideal forms.
At that moment, when the moral climate was governed by leagues of decency and the like, 
the Athletic Model Guild was wrongly suspected of being a network of call-boys,
or something of the kind.

Although Bob in the beginning did not even know how to use a camera he, himself, worked on
every aspect of Physique Pictorial productions; from the graphic design and tedious
cut-and-paste production of the layout, to the composition of the text and the all-important
selection of photographs. Bob did all his initial recruiting personally, visiting local gyms 
and muscle beaches.

Some of his models were dedicated bodybuilders. Others included husky men muscled by hard labour,
lean sun-worshippers, servicemen. movie stars hopefuls, drifters and an assortment of 
boy-next-door types.  One of his favourite categories was wrestling.
Had the models been embracing instead of wrestling, everyone involved would have been arrested
for pornography, but since they were trying to kill one another, it was ok.
Men, naked for the pleasure of others?  That, in the fifties, was dangerously radical
His models are innocent youths. They don't have the affection or cynical attitude of our
epoch and don't seem to take themselves serious.

Mizer experimented with poses, costumes and settings. His expanding repertoire of props 
included Classical statues, exotic animal skins and fabrics, warrior head-dresses, as well
as rough trade items like motorcycles, boots, chains and leather.
And of course, models were required to wear a scanty posing strap.

The aesthetic quality of his work may sometimes be debatable, as it does have its kitsch side, 
but even this can't detract from its value. We recognise here his humour, and his disconcerting
fashion of wanting to get away once and for all from hypocrisy and innocence.
By the middle of the sixties, not a single physique studio had avoided prosecution by the
authorities, except AMG. Because Mizer never photographed frontal nudity at all, they were hard
pressed to get him on pornography or obscenity charges. 
Over the years, Mizer had developed a private code to help him keep track of the personalities
of the hundreds of models he dealt with.
The set of symbols was based upon an elaboration of the astrological signs of the zodiac.
In 1963, he began to publish these symbols in Physique Pictorial and he offered, privately
to good customers, a code sheet to decipher them. Friends repeatedly warned him that printing
the signs was libel, since the code told everything, not just who was punctual and who was not,
but also illustrated their sexual proclivities and even whether they accepted money for sex,
but Mizer, feeling that his own stringent honesty was a shield against unfair prosecution,
continued to print them.  Not until the code was used in the courts in an attempt to convict
him of pandering did he finally cease and subsequently hid or destroyed all copies
of the code key sheets in the late sixties.

But some of the symbols are known. For instance, the astrological sign for Mars indicated sexual 
proclivity. With the arrow in the correct location, pointing north-east, it meant heterosexual; 
pointing straight up, aggressive homosexual or "top"; pointing down, passive homosexual or
"bottom"; both up and down (as here), versatile homosexual; and when all three arrows appear,
bisexual or anything goes.

Joe Dallesandro, maybe the first major male nude star, posed for Mizer just prior to his
celebrated New York premiere. Joe Dallesandro was Andy Warhol's "discovery" in the director's 
offbeat films of the 70's (Trash, Flash) but was prier discovered by photographer 
Bruce of Los Angels for the AMG.

Physique Pictorial regularly featured such non-photographic,highly erotic,male-oriented art work. 
Mizer presented, among others, the art of George Quaintance, Harry Bush and Tom of Finland.

Why was Physique Pictorial so instantaneously popular?  What made it se different it could be 
classified as a whole new category of magazine? Technically, Mizer's work as a photographer was
neither dramatically innovative nor aesthetically outrageous.  
What was new about the work in Mizer's magazine was not something he was doing but something
he was not doing. Men had been photographed 'sans' clothing since the invention of the camera
but, unlike female nudes, a man was never allowed to be naked simply to please the eye.
Male nudity always required a reason why.  Photographs of men in the near-nude were common
in the health and body-building magazines, but readers were constantly reminded that these men
were there to inspire ideals of health,mental and moral as well as physical,and not for anyone's
mere enjoyment. There was an unspoken agreement that men never took their clothes off
just to be admired for their looks.
What Physique Pictorial did was to strip away all that obfuscation. A glance through the 
magazine made it instantly clear that it celebrated the male body with a directness that had not
been seen since the collapse of the Roman Empire.
No serious attempt was made to gloss over the fact that those attractive young men were naked
to be looked at and enjoyed.

Resources:

* ATHLETIC MODEL GUILD, 160 Young Americans Photographed by Robert Mizer
   publisher: INTERMALE, The Netherlands. 1987 (out of print ! )
* PHYSIQUE, A Pictorial History Of The Athletic Model Guild
* BEEFCAKE: The Muscle Magazines of America, 1950-1970

Items to be obtained from The Tom Of Finland Company

* Athletic Model Guild magazines (15 magazines in pristine condition)
* Physique Pictorial magazines (12 sets of 4 magazines. Vintage issues in their original format)
* The Complete Reprint of Physique Pictorial (3 volumes, 2,600 pages, 6,000 images)
* Athletic Model Guild Videos (5 vol. This collection spans the entire history of AMG) 
* Beefcake: The Muscle Magazines of America, 1950-1970 
* Physique: a Pictorial History of the Athletic Model Guild

• Link to The Tom Of Finland Company

Unfortunate the 'official' Athletic Model Guild Homepage is a very poor one.
It lacks background information, boring layout and mainly is a very commercial site. 
In my opinion more interested in making money then a tribute to the unique talents of
Robert Mizer.

• link to http://www.athleticmodelguild.com/