Leonard Nimoy Interview by Daniel Robert Epstein, vulcanized
Shekhina presents the first-ever monograph of Leonard Nimoy, photographer. This exhaustive and earily beautiful photographic study of the female form reveals Nimoy's intrigue with scriptural mythology and ancient spirituality. According to the Kabbalah, evil came into the world once God became separate from the "Shekhina," the deity's feminine counterpart. The Shekhina came to be understood as a crucial element of both divine and human spirit, symbolizing the creativity and wisdom without which no human being is complete. Renowned actor and director Leonard Nimoy has turned to photography as a means of inquiry into the mysteries of the Shekhina.
Check out the website for Shekhina here.
Check out Leonard Nimoy's website here.
Dan Epstein: Where did you first hear of the concept of Shekhina?
Leonard Nimoy: About 6 years ago, talking to a Rabbi, relative, friend about the benediction that you get, that I remembered when I was a little kid, in the Orthodox Synagogue, when the Cohanim get up to bless the congregation. I was talking about the hand gesture that they were using, that I saw when I wasn't supposed to be looking. But I didn't know why you're not supposed to look, and he explained to me that you cover your eyes because my father told me not to look and the whole congregation had their heads covered with their tallit prayer shawls and had their eyes covered with their hands. He said you're not supposed to look because the belief is that Shekhina enters the sanctuary at that time to bless the congregation. That was the first I became really aware of what this is all about.
DE: You've been doing photography for many years.
LN: Since I was in my early teens. About 12 or 13 years old.
DE: These are photographs that you have been taking over the years, or just the past few years?
LN: These photographs that are in this book span about 7 or 8 years.
DE: What made you want to include the Vulcan hand sign?
LN: That's what the Shekhina is all about. That's the gesture that represents Shekhina.
DE: Oh, really? So this is something that you have prepared for almost your whole life, it seems.
LN: Yeah, without realizing it.
DE: The critic whose comments are in the book, Donald Kuspit, refers to you as a Jewish heretic. What do you think of that?
LN: I guess maybe I am. I don't know. I'm not uncomfortable with that.
DE: How do you think your fans will react to the new book?
LN: I can't really say that I was concerned with that when I was producing this thing. I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.
DE: I read that you retired from acting and directing, why is that?
LN: That's true, because I'm a photographer now.
DE: Are we going to see more work in the photography realm?
LN: I hope so. I'm shooting more work. I don't know how or when you'll see it. The prints from this book are being exhibited around the country. There is an exhibition up now in New York at Hebrew Union College [HUC] and there are several others going on simultaneously. There will probably be other exhibitions of other work later, but I'm not really sure what the next exhibition is going to be.
DE: I was just doing my research, and it's nearly impossible not to run into Spock-related stuff, and a lot of people felt that the original Star Trek with two Jewish actors in the lead, might have made the show seem a little too Jewish.
LN: Who felt that? Are you serious, someone felt the show was too Jewish? Are you serious? Because I don't want to get into this conversation unless you're serious.
DE: I am totally serious, absolutely.
LN: You know people who said that the show was too Jewish?
DE: Well, what I read, I think the liberalness of the show might have been seen as too Jewish.
LN: Let's not spread that bullshit.
DE: I recently spoke with William Shatner. How have you avoided all the self-parody stuff that he seems to revel in?
LN: He was a fun-loving guy; he goes with what his instincts are. My instincts are different from his. I haven't been drawn to that kind of thing.
DE: How has the book tour been going?
LN: The book tour has been really interesting and very gratifying. I have not book toured before. I've never had quite as much pleasure, as much satisfaction. Usually book tours and your sit down and you sign hundreds of books. This time, there have been a lot of interesting discussion about the subject matter and I've had a good time talking about it. And in some of the cases, I'm not just signing books; I'm showing slides and talking about the work. And in some cases, I'm signing in conjunction with exhibitions around the country. It's a different kind of book tour.
DE: I read that, with your interest in photography, that you studied at UCLA. I was just wondering what was the reaction back then to a star wanting to come back to class?
LN: I don't remember it being an issue. I had a great teacher. His name was Robert Hannighan, and he was the man that started the photography program at UCLA. He was a great teacher on the subject of Humanic Photography, the point being your using photography as a personal expression. Some people take pictures of family events; some people take pictures to show where they have been in their travels.
DE: Do you work alone, or with assistants?
LN: I have occasionally worked with assistants on the shot. But I do my own lab processing.
DE: What else is going on for you right now?
LN: This is what I'm doing right now. I'm thoroughly enjoying the creative process through photography. This is how I spend my working and thinking time. I'm also enjoying my life. I have a great family. I have 2 great kids and 5 great grandchildren. I have a brilliantly happy marriage. We spend our time between 3 homes, one here in LA, one at Lake Tahoe, and one in NY. We do a lot of extensive traveling; we go to art museums and theatres. We have great friends on both coasts. We collect contemporary art; we go to art fairs all around the world. What more can a person ask? My life is as full and as rich as it could possibly be. And I'm happy to spend the time to tell you about it. I'm leaving now to do a tour of about 15 cities and I'm really looking forward to it.
DE: Yes, thank you very much, sir.
Copy from http://www.ugo.com/
Check out the website for Shekhina here.
Check out Leonard Nimoy's website here.
Dan Epstein: Where did you first hear of the concept of Shekhina?
Leonard Nimoy: About 6 years ago, talking to a Rabbi, relative, friend about the benediction that you get, that I remembered when I was a little kid, in the Orthodox Synagogue, when the Cohanim get up to bless the congregation. I was talking about the hand gesture that they were using, that I saw when I wasn't supposed to be looking. But I didn't know why you're not supposed to look, and he explained to me that you cover your eyes because my father told me not to look and the whole congregation had their heads covered with their tallit prayer shawls and had their eyes covered with their hands. He said you're not supposed to look because the belief is that Shekhina enters the sanctuary at that time to bless the congregation. That was the first I became really aware of what this is all about.
DE: You've been doing photography for many years.
LN: Since I was in my early teens. About 12 or 13 years old.
DE: These are photographs that you have been taking over the years, or just the past few years?
LN: These photographs that are in this book span about 7 or 8 years.
DE: What made you want to include the Vulcan hand sign?
LN: That's what the Shekhina is all about. That's the gesture that represents Shekhina.
DE: Oh, really? So this is something that you have prepared for almost your whole life, it seems.
LN: Yeah, without realizing it.
DE: The critic whose comments are in the book, Donald Kuspit, refers to you as a Jewish heretic. What do you think of that?
LN: I guess maybe I am. I don't know. I'm not uncomfortable with that.
DE: How do you think your fans will react to the new book?
LN: I can't really say that I was concerned with that when I was producing this thing. I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.
DE: I read that you retired from acting and directing, why is that?
LN: That's true, because I'm a photographer now.
DE: Are we going to see more work in the photography realm?
LN: I hope so. I'm shooting more work. I don't know how or when you'll see it. The prints from this book are being exhibited around the country. There is an exhibition up now in New York at Hebrew Union College [HUC] and there are several others going on simultaneously. There will probably be other exhibitions of other work later, but I'm not really sure what the next exhibition is going to be.
DE: I was just doing my research, and it's nearly impossible not to run into Spock-related stuff, and a lot of people felt that the original Star Trek with two Jewish actors in the lead, might have made the show seem a little too Jewish.
LN: Who felt that? Are you serious, someone felt the show was too Jewish? Are you serious? Because I don't want to get into this conversation unless you're serious.
DE: I am totally serious, absolutely.
LN: You know people who said that the show was too Jewish?
DE: Well, what I read, I think the liberalness of the show might have been seen as too Jewish.
LN: Let's not spread that bullshit.
DE: I recently spoke with William Shatner. How have you avoided all the self-parody stuff that he seems to revel in?
LN: He was a fun-loving guy; he goes with what his instincts are. My instincts are different from his. I haven't been drawn to that kind of thing.
DE: How has the book tour been going?
LN: The book tour has been really interesting and very gratifying. I have not book toured before. I've never had quite as much pleasure, as much satisfaction. Usually book tours and your sit down and you sign hundreds of books. This time, there have been a lot of interesting discussion about the subject matter and I've had a good time talking about it. And in some of the cases, I'm not just signing books; I'm showing slides and talking about the work. And in some cases, I'm signing in conjunction with exhibitions around the country. It's a different kind of book tour.
DE: I read that, with your interest in photography, that you studied at UCLA. I was just wondering what was the reaction back then to a star wanting to come back to class?
LN: I don't remember it being an issue. I had a great teacher. His name was Robert Hannighan, and he was the man that started the photography program at UCLA. He was a great teacher on the subject of Humanic Photography, the point being your using photography as a personal expression. Some people take pictures of family events; some people take pictures to show where they have been in their travels.
DE: Do you work alone, or with assistants?
LN: I have occasionally worked with assistants on the shot. But I do my own lab processing.
DE: What else is going on for you right now?
LN: This is what I'm doing right now. I'm thoroughly enjoying the creative process through photography. This is how I spend my working and thinking time. I'm also enjoying my life. I have a great family. I have 2 great kids and 5 great grandchildren. I have a brilliantly happy marriage. We spend our time between 3 homes, one here in LA, one at Lake Tahoe, and one in NY. We do a lot of extensive traveling; we go to art museums and theatres. We have great friends on both coasts. We collect contemporary art; we go to art fairs all around the world. What more can a person ask? My life is as full and as rich as it could possibly be. And I'm happy to spend the time to tell you about it. I'm leaving now to do a tour of about 15 cities and I'm really looking forward to it.
DE: Yes, thank you very much, sir.
Copy from http://www.ugo.com/