Leonard Nimoy: Shekhina, was 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.
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.
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."
Exhibition catalog, hardcover, 96 pages
Rare, first edition, new
#16797
