Barbara Nitke
For more than 20 years Barbara Nitke has been exploring sexual relationships and desire through photography. She is best known for her compelling images of SM lovers, taken from the mid-1990s to the present, that celebrate the deep bond and intense passion of sadomasochists. The images have a trademark softness that reflects the emotional states of love and transcendence she witnessed so often while watching SM play, and heightens the sense of romance Nitke sought to convey. The topic eventually became the focus of her book, Kiss of Fire: A Romantic View of Sadomasochism (Kehrer 2003).
“My goal (is) to capture not just the deep intimacy and trust between lovers, but also the intense energy and passion of SM practices. Everyone I've photographed has taught me something new about the nature of sexual desire, humanity, and the fact that no matter how we're wired to express love, freedom is having the courage to be who we are.”
~ Barbara Nitke
In addition to her work in photography, Barbara is a frequent lecturer on the topic of SM to both practitioners and the general public. She is a voyeur in the scene and a member of The Eulenspiegel Society and the Lesbian Sex Mafia, a women-only group based in New York. She has been the featured artist and official photographer at many SM conventions across the country.
She was the keynote speaker at the 11th annual national Leather Leadership Conference in Minneapolis in 2007. In 2004 Barbara received the Brother Leo Educator's Award from The Eulenspiegel Society, and in 2001 the President's Choice Award for community service from the Pantheon of Leather.
She is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been the subject of one-woman exhibitions in New York, New Orleans, Baltimore, Provincetown, and Philadelphia.
Barbara was a co-plaintiff with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom in challenging John Ashcroft (later Alberto Gonzales), Attorney General of the United States of America, and the federal Communications Decency Act (CDA) which regulates obscenity on the Internet.
She is currently at work on a fashion and advertising portfolio. The new work will reflect continuing themes of Barbara’s work, this time in the form of poignant vignettes on the subject of love, desire and connection.
You can learn more about Barbara on her website, www.barbaranitke.com