SAN FRANCISCO – September 3, 2024 -- The Bob Mizer Foundation is thrilled to present Boxing Clever: Pugilistic Power and Visual Desire from the Permanent Collection, an exhibit that displays 20th-century boxers as not only bastions of masculinity but also subjects of gay admiration. The exhibit opens Thursday, Sept. 5 and runs through Oct. 26.
Like many other images of athletes throughout the past century, photographs of boxers, whether posing, throwing punches in the ring, or training in the gym, provided a socially acceptable outlet through which closeted gay men could appreciate the male body. On the surface, the images could be enjoyed for their portrayal of raw athleticism and masculinity; underneath that surface, they offered a way for gay men to better appreciate their own identity and the sexual desires that accompanied it in an age when they wouldn’t dare share that identity publicly.
Boxers such as Charley White, Sammy Fuller, and their contemporaries stood as the ultimate symbol of masculinity, embodying toughness, grit, victory, and strength, unknowingly drawing the gay gaze of an entire generation of men still confined to their metaphorical closet. These men viewed athletic warriors such as the boxer and saw beauty and sensuality, not simply an overtly masculine role model and entertainer.
“This photography exhibition explores how images of 20th-century boxers served as rare, socially acceptable material for closeted gay men to admire the male form. Through the lens of alternative admiration, the exhibition reveals the duality of these photos: celebrated publicly for athleticism while privately resonating with desire and identity,” according to a summary of the exhibit. “By recontextualizing these images, the exhibition honors the hidden histories of those who found connection in these athletes' powerful, chiseled bodies, offering a nuanced view of masculinity and representation.”
The exhibit is free and open to the public, but donations are encouraged. For more information on the Foundation, including a calendar of upcoming events, visit www.bobmizer.org.
Bob Mizer (1922-92) was a mid-century male physique photographer. In 1945, Mizer founded the Athletic Model Guild; in 1951, he began publishing his pioneering zine Physique Pictorial, which would enjoy a press run of nearly 40 years.
During an era in which artists like Mizer could be (and were) censored and silenced by the ongoing threat of heavy fines, exposure to a puritanical public, and even jail time. His work remains a groundbreaking and critical component of LGBTQ+ culture and history, resonating with a global audience even today.
The Bob Mizer Foundation is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Mizer's surviving works, which include photographs, slides, negatives, and films. Based in San Francisco, this nonprofit organization hosts regular art exhibits, in-person/online film screenings, and lectures by experts in male physique culture. Learn more and donate at www.bobmizer.org.
Corbin Crable
Chief Communications Officer
corbin@bobmizer.org