Nimoy's Sight Unseen Exhibition Opens

Leonard Nimoy, instantly recognisable to millions as the world's favourite pointy-eared Vulcan, Spock, is looking for recognition of a different sort these days - not for himself, but for his art. The result of that search for recognition is 'Sight Unseen', an exhibition of the actor's black and white photography at the Michael Martin Galleries in San Francisco.

"I'm trying to reach an audience that is inclined to take the work on its own merits," Nimoy told John McMurtrie of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I understand that in certain quarters there's a disdain for people who cross from one art form to another... I guess that's just the way it is."

Over the years, Nimoy has drawn parallels between his quest to understand spirituality and his character's quest to understand the universe, and both his past work and the exhibition reflect that. One of his early photos is actually of a female nude using the 'live long and prosper sign'. "It just struck me one day that there was a possible crossover," he said, referring to the nudes and the gesture, which is actually "something that [he] had seen in the services in synagogue" as a child. The v-like 'live-long-and-prosper' gesture actually represents the Hebrew letter 'shin' and is invoked to suggest the feminine presence of God blessing the congregation.

"I've never really verbalized this before, and that's the honest truth," he adds, "but I've always seen Spock as a spiritual figure. He's a searcher for values, for ethics, for insight." Nimoy, too, sees himself on a similar sort of spiritual journey. "Trying to figure it out," he told McMurtrie.

The 'Sight Unseen' exhibition, which also features work by Nick Czap, will run thought to April the 2nd. More information can be found in this San Francisco Chronicle article.

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