QueerCalendarOpening reception for Russ Warner: Muscle on Trial (Censorship in the 1950s) at the Bob Mizer Museum and Photographic Archives, in the Main Gallery. The exhibition runs December 3, 2026 to February 27, 2027.
In 1955, Oakland photographer Russ Warner was prosecuted for mailing nude photographs of men. A former bodybuilder who shot covers and features for magazines including Strength & Health and Iron Man, Warner also sold nude photographs privately by mail, which drew federal scrutiny. The exhibition displays photographs like those at issue in the case to show how images of male beauty became criminal evidence, and follows the convictions of Warner and his co-defendants and the impact on the men who modeled for him.
Free to members and the public. The exhibition includes nude photography.
