American photographer Barbara Nitke is known for her work on pornographic film sets. She began documenting sexuality in 1982, at the end of the golden age of porn. Over the course of twelve years, Nitke took pictures on hundreds of sets, mostly in New York, until 1991, when the hardcore porn industry moved to Los Angeles. Fetish and BDSM films, however, the fastest growing segment of the industry, continued to be shot in New York. Today her work is the subject of an exhibition at the One Eyed Jacks Gallery in Brighton, England, a year after the release of her book American Ecstasy, both of which were financed through a Kickstarter campaign.
Hailed by The Village Voice for her “quest for humanity in the marginal form of sex,” and as an, “artist of singular merit,” by the critic Arthur Danto, Nitke’s work is difficult to categorize and undeniably explicit, but it goes beyond the mechanics of sex. Her photographs reveal the humanity and the vulnerability of the performers, the boredom on the film sets as well as the surrealism of the XXX world. Mostly shot during downtime , the photographs capture a deeply intimate, almost depressing atmosphere. The half-naked starlets huddle together like worn-out soldiers after battle. In one image, the director has stopped the scene to give notes to a performer while her partner is still “in action.” The photographs move the viewer to compassion.
“I discovered Nitke’s work on a photography blog by chance, and it leapt out immediately,” says gallery owner, Matt Henry. “Not only for its devoutly humanistic approach to such charged subject matter, but also for its perfect attention to lighting, colour and composition. Few photographers have the emotional sensibility to draw out a compelling story from the everyday, and the ability to balance those elements in the frame in a way that viscerally entices and enthralls. Barbara Nitke is one of them. “
EXPOSITION
American Ecstasy, de Barbara Nitke
Through June 4, 2014
One Eyed Jacks Gallery
28 York Pl, Hove, Brighton
East Sussex BN1 4GU, Royaume-Uni
+44 7743 098530
Contribute to Barbara Nitke’s Kickstarter campaign.
http://www.barbaranitke.com/
http://www.oneeyedjacksgallery.com
