Barbara Nitke at New Orleans Meet 'n' Greet This Weekend

NEW YORK CITY—According to a press release received today, noted erotic photographer Barbara Nitke will be attending PhotoNOLA this weekend to promote her latest book, American Ecstasy, and several photos from the book, as well as other Nitke images, will be featured in an art show at the convention. Nitke, it will be remembered, was one of the plaintiffs (along with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom) in a lawsuit to strike down the "obscenity" clause in the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which might have prevented Nitke and others from featuring some of their less-mainstream erotic images—S/M, swinging and polyamory—on the internet. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied certiorari for the lawsuit, which had earlier been dismissed by lower courts. PhotoNOLA is an annual festival of photography in New Orleans, coordinated by the New Orleans Photo Alliance in partnership with galleries, museums and photographers citywide. The 2012 festival begins today and runs through December 2, with broad ranging photography exhibitions on display throughout the month. The lineup includes portfolio reviews, workshops, lectures, demonstrations, book signings and the PhotoGALA Benefit Party and Auction. Many events are free and open to the public. While in New Orleans, Nitke will be a guest of Press Street, which she described as a "very cool local arts organization." Nitke will kick off her NOLA tour with a slide show and book signing at the Happy Hour Salon at Press Street headquarters, 3718 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans, on Friday, November 30, from 6 to 9 pm. Then on Sunday, December 2, she'll be part of an art opening at the Barrister's Gallery, 2331 St. Claude Ave., again from 6 to 9 pm. American Ecstasy has the distinction of being one of the few early erotic projects to benefit from the then-fledgling crowd-sourcing website Kickstarter, where Nitke raised $25,000 in small donations to publish the book. A recent interview with Nitke by Nathan C. Martin, titled "The Porn Romantic," can be found here. An earlier interview done by AVN correspondent Leslie Mann can be found here.