I recently read William Shatner’s book, My Fifty Year Old Friendship with a Remarkable Man about (surprise) his relationship with his Star Trek co-star and ex friend Leonard Nimoy.
Although Shatner underemphasized their split and its importance, the two men ceased to be friends when Shatner allegedly used footage he took of Nimoy in a documentary without asking for the Spock actor’s permission.
One of the interesting things I was reminded of in the book was that the Vulcan greeting on the show originated as a Jewish gesture. The Vulcan greeting gesture is part of a Jewish orthodox ceremony
During the benediction in a service, the feminine aspect of God or the sheckinhanh or Shekhina is supposed to appear. She is so supremely powerful that if you see her, it can cause permanent damage. Many of her followers use a gesture in which their fingers form the shape of the Hebrew letter shin to conceal their eyes and save their vision.
Nimoy also used this symbol in his book of, glamourous, nude women wearing religious symbols, the book is titled Shekhina. See http://www.rmichelson.com/artists/leonard-nimoy/shekhina/
Shekhina is a feminine word in Hebrew, and it was used in the Talmud to mean the visible manifestations of God’s presence on Earth. Over time, Shakina came to mean and a softer, feminine aspect of or counterpart to God who defends humanity, and comfort the poor and sick. She also serves as a mother figure for Israel and the Virgin Mary fills some of these roles in Catholicism.
When he met Obama at a fundraiser the pre president event greeted Nimoy with the Vulcan greeting.
**Another One of My favorite Shows ever was Twin Peaks (particularly the first season). Well a Twin Peaks themed art show opened on June 22 at Blue Jay Way in Chicago. It even has coffee and little cherry pies but Peggy Lipton was nowhere in sight.
The show is titled “Who killed Laura Palmer?”, and it features art by Sara Bassick, Kendall Bruns, Richelle DeLora, Sierra DuFault, Zoe DuFault, Nick Fisher, Brett Freeman, Zelda Galewsky, Chris Gallevo, Albert Gray, Erin Knight, Jaime Knight. Jen Lemasters, Gage Lindsten, Brett Manning, Daniel Payne, Jarad Solomon and Alex Walker Taylor. Some of these artists had work in CAKE¸ the recent Chicago alternative comics’ event.
** Another interesting art show that I saw recently had some paintings inspired by the stylish vampire film, The Girl Walks Home Alone at Midnight, I’m not sure if the paintings are still up but here is the invite;
Please join us for a reception to celebrate the opening of our new exhibition, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: Paintings by Amanda Joy Calobrisi (Chicago) and Erica Jackson (Philadelphia).
Opening Reception: June 17th 6-9pm
Closing (TBA)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: Paintings by Amanda Joy Calobrisi and Erica Jackson
The great Iranian indie film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014, Amirpour) sets up a scenario in which things are not at all what they seem. People and places are recognizable, but they upend our expectations at every turn: they don’t signify in conventional ways. The slippage between reality and the artistic vision renders the entire scene simultaneously uncanny and vivid, albeit in black and white.
In paintings by Calobrisi and Jackson, the real world is observed closely, and it’s recognizable, yet at a certain distance. It yields a sense of the uncanny in Jackson’s static, nearly empty Japanese street scenes, while Calobrisi’s hyper-vivid paintings of women burst through the pictorial plane with saturated color, love of detail and intensity.
These two young women artists, committed to painting, the most challenging and at the same time inexhaustibly refreshing of art media. For both, the slightly askew view of reality is abetted by the use of photography as a source; photography, that most faithlessly faithful of media, provides them with the contours and the edges of the real and allows them to see beyond what we are used to seeing. Through their eyes and their hands, real-world based painting fulfills its mandate to show us the world made anew.
P.S. All artwork will be hung at the store for a month if you can’t make it to the opening!
See Twin Peaks Art Show @ Blue Jay Way
Address: 2489 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Twin Peaks Art Show @ Blue Jay Way
At the art show I encountered the always friendly and impressive, Mr. Vibe. He complained about the cherry pie and coffee in the real restaurant where some of the Twin Peaks show took place (he got to visit while on vacation.
Mr. Vibe also lamented that it seemed like the Chicago Goth gatherings were getting less frequent and it seemed like Goth culture was in decline. But there is a valuable Goth open group on Facebook called Gothic Art Chicago and there is also a new issue on Kilter at book stores right now.
Go here to find out more about Mr., Vibe. And if you contact him he can read your palm and he may be
able to tell you about your future. See http://www.mistervibe.com/
