Barbara Nitke
Encyclopedia
Barbara Nitke is an internationally known photographer who specializes in the subject of human sexual relations, especially in the BDSM
community. Her work has been exhibited and collected for over 20 years.
Nitke was born in Lynchburg
, Virginia
in 1950 and grew up in both Virginia and Alaska
. She later moved to New York City
where she found work as a set photographer on pornographic films. She found the porn world interesting and took to documenting the porn industry and its people when she was not working on the set. Her art from this time captures much of the surrealism of people working in such an offbeat profession.
and BDSM
film industries which had remained in New York City. She found the SM scene fascinating and very unlike the mainstream porn industry. In large part, the people in SM porn were actual partners, not just actors, and had a special chemistry that attracted her.
In 1994 she attended her first meeting of The Eulenspiegel Society
, one of the country's first BDSM organizations, to see a presentation by the famous photographer Charles Gatewood. There she met many real consensual SM couples and began photographing them in actual BDSM scenes rather than in staged or posed shots. The resulting photographs were collected in her first book, "Kiss of Fire: A Romantic View of Sadomasochism," published in 2003.
In addition to her artistic pursuits, she still works as a commercial photographer on movie and TV sets and has had photographic exhibitions in New York
, New Orleans, Baltimore
, Provincetown and Philadelphia. She is President of The Camera Club of New York
(founded in 1884 by Alfred Stieglitz
), a member of The Eulenspiegel Society
and is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts
in New York.
, challenging the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act
, a federal statute prohibiting the publication of obscenity
on the Internet. The case was called Nitke v. Ashcroft, then later changed to Nitke v. Gonzales
.
Nitke and the NCSF argued that while the Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. California defines obscenity according to community standards, the Internet does not permit publishers to restrict the dissemination of their speech based on geography. Therefore, the plaintiffs claimed, a person posting sexually explicit material on the Internet could be found criminally liable according to the standards of the most restrictive community in the country. This, Nitke said, would chill her freedom of speech and therefore violate her First Amendment
rights.
A three-judge panel of the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York
conducted a trial, and in 2005 found that Nitke and the NCSF had presented insufficient evidence that the variation in community standards is substantial enough to chill the plaintiffs' speech. On March 20, 2006, the Supreme Court affirmed that ruling without opinion.
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
community. Her work has been exhibited and collected for over 20 years.
Nitke was born in Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1950 and grew up in both Virginia and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. She later moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where she found work as a set photographer on pornographic films. She found the porn world interesting and took to documenting the porn industry and its people when she was not working on the set. Her art from this time captures much of the surrealism of people working in such an offbeat profession.
Nitke and the porn business
The hardcore porn business moved to the west coast in the early 1990s, and Nitke found work in the fetishSexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
and BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
film industries which had remained in New York City. She found the SM scene fascinating and very unlike the mainstream porn industry. In large part, the people in SM porn were actual partners, not just actors, and had a special chemistry that attracted her.
In 1994 she attended her first meeting of The Eulenspiegel Society
The Eulenspiegel Society
The Eulenspiegel Society is the oldest and largest BDSM education and support group in New York City, where it is based, and claims to be the oldest group in the United States...
, one of the country's first BDSM organizations, to see a presentation by the famous photographer Charles Gatewood. There she met many real consensual SM couples and began photographing them in actual BDSM scenes rather than in staged or posed shots. The resulting photographs were collected in her first book, "Kiss of Fire: A Romantic View of Sadomasochism," published in 2003.
In addition to her artistic pursuits, she still works as a commercial photographer on movie and TV sets and has had photographic exhibitions in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Orleans, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Provincetown and Philadelphia. She is President of The Camera Club of New York
The Camera Club of New York
Since 1884, The Camera Club of New York has been a forum to explore photography. Though the Club was created by well-to-do 'gentlemen' photography enthusiasts seeking a refuge from the mass popularization of the medium in the 1880s, it accepted its first woman as a member, Miss Elizabeth A...
(founded in 1884 by Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form...
), a member of The Eulenspiegel Society
The Eulenspiegel Society
The Eulenspiegel Society is the oldest and largest BDSM education and support group in New York City, where it is based, and claims to be the oldest group in the United States...
and is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
in New York.
Nitke v. Gonzales
In 2001, Nitke filed a lawsuit, along with co-plaintiff the National Coalition for Sexual FreedomNational Coalition for Sexual Freedom
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a pro-sexual freedom, advocacy and educational organization founded in 1997 in the United States...
, challenging the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act
Communications Decency Act
The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions of the Act.The Act was...
, a federal statute prohibiting the publication of obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
on the Internet. The case was called Nitke v. Ashcroft, then later changed to Nitke v. Gonzales
Nitke v. Gonzales
Nitke v. Gonzalez, 413 F.Supp.2d 262 was a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York case regarding obscene materials published online. The plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of the obscenity provision of the Communications Decency Act...
.
Nitke and the NCSF argued that while the Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. California defines obscenity according to community standards, the Internet does not permit publishers to restrict the dissemination of their speech based on geography. Therefore, the plaintiffs claimed, a person posting sexually explicit material on the Internet could be found criminally liable according to the standards of the most restrictive community in the country. This, Nitke said, would chill her freedom of speech and therefore violate her First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
rights.
A three-judge panel of the United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
conducted a trial, and in 2005 found that Nitke and the NCSF had presented insufficient evidence that the variation in community standards is substantial enough to chill the plaintiffs' speech. On March 20, 2006, the Supreme Court affirmed that ruling without opinion.
See also
- Free speech
- Communications Decency ActCommunications Decency ActThe Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions of the Act.The Act was...
- Telecommunications Act of 1996Telecommunications Act of 1996The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
- Fetish photographer
- Erotic artErotic artErotic art covers any artistic work that is intended to evoke erotic arousal or that depicts scenes of love-making. It includes paintings, engravings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, music and writing.-Definition:...
- Nitke v. GonzalesNitke v. GonzalesNitke v. Gonzalez, 413 F.Supp.2d 262 was a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York case regarding obscene materials published online. The plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of the obscenity provision of the Communications Decency Act...