Kiss of Fire: A Romantic View of Sadomasochism

Lovers. Barbara Nitke uses the word almost immediately in her introduction. Each time she writes it, she makes it seem so simple, as if the emotional bonds that seal the people she photographs were visible as the light that bathes them, palpable as the breath they share. In the most striking of her images, those emotions, and feelings - the love being celebrated and exchanged truly is a tangible character in the scene, proudly declaring its validity. From image to image the language of the lovers changes: The eager light of a woman tensed for the next sensation from her Master, near monolithic in his anonymity. We wonder what it is that she recognizes as she gazes into the face hidden from us. A powerfully built woman, clad all in black leather gently catches the body of her slave, cat of tails still in hand. Having just administered blows to his nude back, she regards him gently as he reclines into her embrace, drunk in the sensation. A tiny Asian woman almost glows as she cradles her much lover, bearded and burly, but rapt in possession - he has given himself to her bound and gagged. The light of her face and shower of her hair pour over him as they drift in a Pieta of trust and desire. A regally statuesque Domina bends to her fragile female sub, dangling a kiss just above the thirsty mouth of her charge, made totally naked and vulnerable as she sits on the commode. There is no doubt in the mind of the photographer or her subjects, what they are telling us are love stories, perhaps not in the idiom we are most used to, but love stories regardless.Kiss of Fire is a collection of love stories every bit as valid and timeless and the Song of Solomon. The plates are the result of an odyssey Nitke has willingly taken over the last decade through the BDSM underground in New York City. She made her way to this otherworld through an early career stint as a still photographer on over 300 porn films. Befriending porn legend Rick Savage led to her introduction to The Eulenspeigel Society, the oldest and largest SM support and educational group in the nation. It was at their twice-weekly meetings that she discovered the truly "normal" people - teachers, nurses, businessmen, husbands, wives - who made up the leather "underground" and populated SM clubs such as Hellfire and the Vault. Nitke attended meetings, clubs and parties for months before asking members to allow her to photograph them in their play, always making clear her intentions to publish the final images. Many refused, justifiably fearful of losing jobs and perhaps their very families should they be seen in the resulting images. Soon though Nitke found a small group of lovers (her word) brave and proud and curious enough to include her in their scenes. For the next decade, Nitke and her camera submerged in the darkly beautiful, swirling currents where sensation, love and trust mix with flesh.Nitke approaches each scene as a friend, a participant, a fellow artist, even as a lo

This book blew me away.I am a kinky woman who does not normally enjoy visual erotica. Mostly I find it cliched, sexist, disturbing, or some combination of the three. When I received this book as a present, I thought, "Oh, well, maybe my partner will like it." But, paging through it, I was delighted and moved by what I found. This is unlike any other book of visual erotica that I've ever encountered.These are candid images - real pictures of what the BDSM scene looks like on the inside. She shows people of different body types and levels of conventional attractiveness engaged in a wide variety of BDSM activities. The compositions are excellent. And, as only a few photographers are skilled enough to do, Nitke captures the moments when her subjects have their souls in their eyes. This book is a must-have for any kinky person! I was moved almost to tears. "Finally, someone who gets it!" was the foremost thought in my head, and it will be in yours, too.I believe that if mainstream folks see these images, it could cause a real change in how our lifestyle is perceived. The passion, love, and joy that we bring to our scenes is often not obvious to outsiders and casual observers, but she makes it plain for all to see. Simply amazing. Bravo, Nitke - I'll be looking forward eagerly to your next offering.

Barbara Nitke's long awaited book KISS OF FIRE (Kehrer Verlag, Germany 2003) is finally here and it is a scorcher. Nitke, a fine art photographer of the SM experience depicts her controversial subject matter with sensitivity, wit, and utter seriousness. It's neither porn nor fetish fashion, but the genuine human experience of SM as a living breathing, reality. Her camera peers into the seldom seen hidden lives and loves of her subjects participating vicariously, and viscerally. Her work documents a wide variety of SM activities: floggings, spankings, ponyplay, crossdressing, fisting, piercing, fireplay...as broad a spectrum as human diversity itself. When working, she provides no direction or choreography on her shoots; she watches the scene as it unfolds and captures the pivotal moments on the fly. It is never posed or choreographed. As journalism it is as close to the real sadoerotic experience as you can get without witnessing an SM scene yourself. Her deliberate use of a hard dark border burned around the imagery of her prints creates a sort of keyhole effect, inviting us to share her voyeurism, peeking into private encounters, into hidden worlds.But Nitke is no mere photojournalist. She aims for the *feeling* of SM, capturing beautifully the trancelike languor, the moments of catharsis, of utter connectedness, of blinding sensation, that can occur in SM at its best, where time seems to stretch and spirit energies feel as palpable as heat. She shoots with long exposures that leave ghostly trails and uses unusual infrared films that make skin tones glimmer with an ethereal light. Some of her figures feel more like energy clouds than blocks of solid mass. Her viewfinder tends to go where the rapture is, often seeking out the faces of the submissive partners, sometimes letting the dominants become large anonymous forces of nature. Echoes of religious art are sprinkled throughout: a beautiful dominatrix cradling the blindfolded head of her lover - a fetishized pieta; A male submissive being caned and soaring, tattooed angel wings spreading across his back; Jim Mitchell, master flogger, as a younger, hotter Merlin, his flogger tresses spreading like a energy waves flowing from a magic staff; Bernadette W in rapturous surrender, A contemporary St Thersa in ecstasy. There is even what appears to be a penitent kneeling before a priest (actually a moment of reflection before a shoe shine). This blend of raw documentary subject matter and surreal rendering fuses into an unusual style that is both naturalistic and otherworldly. For folks involved in, curious about, or intrigued by the SM lifestyle, I give "Kiss of Fire" my highest rating. For those who simply love any art with an edge, Nitke is amassing a body of work that ranks with the most powerful passionate contemporary art being made today. You don't need to be kinky to be swept away by Ms. Nitke's visionary spell. "Kiss of Fire" contains 70 beautiful duotones and two es

Ever since Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs were used to help justify the defunding of the National Endowment of the Arts, there has been a question whether sadomasochism is a fit subject for art. Barbara Nitke answers with a resounding YES! in this new book. With over 60 duotone photographs beautifully published on heavy stock, Nitke presents a world of sadomasochism that few will ever see.Nitke's photographs can be shocking at times in their frankness. A bound man cries out in pleasure and agony as another man behind him, naked to the waist, plays upon his body. A pale woman is seated on a toilet, vulnerable and timid, with all of her attention focused on the woman leaning over her. Each of Nitke's photographs is attuned to the interplay between the partners and the love that manifests even in the most extreme sexual encounters. Their interaction feels spontaneous; a charged moment frozen in time. Yet each scene is framed in a gently formal composition that makes even the most outrageous accruements seem beautiful.I enjoyed how Nitke writes of her experience exploring the SM community and her increasing desire to photograph the lovers she saw. "I loved watching them float around together at parties," Nitke says, "Flying on their endorphins, lost in each other. I loved the ones who would spend days cooking up intricate, delicious scenes to tantalize the other and then tell you about it afterwards like mischievous kids."Nitke has captured the intense energy of these couples' passion as well as the deep intimacy and trust that is required to engage in SM. For anyone who has ever wanted a deeper look into the glorious contradictions of kinky sexuality, KISS OF FIRE is a must.

Kiss of Fire is a very unique book in that is explains for the first time in photos and captions the true story of the world of Sadomasochism (S & M). To the "Vanilla World" Vanilla is a term used in S & M circles to describe those that do not participate in the various activities of S & M such as Spankings, Bondage, Floggings, CBT, and many more. To the average man and women S & M is looked at a freakish, sick, or abuse.Nothing can be further from the truth. In this incredible work Barbara Nitke a long time respected "scene" photographer drew from her enormous collection of S & M photographs to show that intense emotions of love interconnect between those involved in these scenes. None of these photos were staged they are real Nitke was simply in the same room at the same time. This is a book for both S & M and the vanilla. It will show those who play that they are not freaks or crazy and give an understanding to those who do not understand. Go get this book better look for a live book signing in your area as Barbara Nitke is one of the most interesting speakers there is.