Leonard Nimoy: Shekhina
Photographs Exploring the Divine Presence in the Feminine Form
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
One West 4th Street (between Broadway and Mercer Street), Manhattan
September 9, 2002 - January 10, 2003
Artist's Reception and Lecture (co-sponsored by Reform Judaism
Magazine),
Tuesday, November 12 -- Reception, 6-8 pm; Lecture, 7 pm
Prayer,
Shekhina,
2002 |
Leonard
Nimoy: Shekhina, an exhibition of photographs by the renowned
artist and actor, will be on view at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion Museum from September 9, 2002 to January 10,
2003. Nimoy's luminous photographs from his recent book, Shekhina,
express his search for the essence of the Shekhina, which he interprets
as the manifestation of the divine presence in humankind and, particularly,
the feminine aspect of God. Through black and white, light and shadow,
figuration and abstraction, Nimoy captures poetic images of the
female form. His evocations of spirit and flesh, prayer, gathering,
and embrace provide a visual portal through which one may encounter
this spiritual presence.
Prayer,
Shekhina,
2002 |
Leonard
Nimoy was born in 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts. His 1951 film debut
launched his acting career, but it was his role as Mr. Spock in
the science fiction series Star Trek that earned him his iconic
status and three Emmy nominations. Nimoy has pursued photography
since his teens: In the 1970s he studied with Robert Heineken at
UCLA. Nimoy uses the photographer's vocabulary to create a balance
of textures as a metaphor for his spiritual interpretations. The
rigors of intense, finely grained images are played off against
illusionist forms blurred from direct scrutiny by gauzy scrims and
veils.
Gathering,
Shekhina,
2002 |
Nimoy
divides his work into sections: The Blessing, The Spirit in the
Flesh, Prayer Against the Darkness, The Gathering, and Embracing
the Light. Figures emerge from darkness into ambient light, the
tallit (prayer shawl) is lifted to reveal far-seeing eyes, light
pours through the hand of a prayerful woman. These intangible moments
of emergence represent the creation of the female spirit.
He has introduced each of these photographic chapters with poetic
interludes which further deepen our understanding of the Shekhina
concept. In the earliest Kabbalistic writings, marked by mysticism
and the belief in creation through emanation, the Shekhina is described
as the feminine principle in the world of the divine Sefirot, the
powers emanating from God, through which the world is created and
its order sustained.
Prayer,
Shekhina,
2002 |
The
restoration of the true unity of God, the masculine principle and
the Shekhina, can be achieved through the adherence to Torah, the
commandments, and prayer.
Laura Kruger, Curator of the HUC-JIR Museum noted, "In his powerful
photographic exploration of the Shekhina, the revelation of holiness
in a profane world, Leonard Nimoy has created a luminous body of
work. Each of the feminine figures in his work emanates a mysterious
glow, a mantle of light, which in itself becomes a visualization
of the glory of God. The imagery of light is the connective sub-text
of his work, the blacks are deep and intense, the ephemeral light
is buoyant and elusive. Nimoy approaches women with a sculptor's
eye. Frequently sited against awesome cloud formations or emerging
from supernatural groves of tree branches, the women are assertive
yet gently vulnerable."
Hours:
Mondays-Thursdays, 9am-5pm;
Fridays, 9am-3pm;
Selected Sundays, 10am-2pm: October 6 and 20, November 3 and 24,
December 8
Admission: Free
For curated tours for reporters/editors, group tours, and additional
information, please call (212) 824-2205.
http://www.huc.edu/museums/ny
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