Leonard Nimoy's Photography on Display in Santa Monica

While Leonard Nimoy could have a collection of artifacts any Trekkie would dream of, the actor has instead filled his home with contemporary works, including his own photography. On Halloween night at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, Nimoy displayed several of those pieces in “Who Do You Think You Are?,” one of his conceptual projects featuring strangers as the subject. Nimoy spent a total of 32 hours over a 48-hour period photographing 95 unfamiliar faces in Northampton, Massachusetts. Twenty-five of the subjects, all of whom answered the actor’s public invitation to those willing to share something of their hidden selves on film, will be featured in an exhibit at MASS MoCA set for next summer. “There was a measure of bravery in this by everyone involved,” the 78-year-old avid photographer explained. “Some of the people walked in with these amazing stories, stories you couldn't anticipate or make up.” A rabbi, for example, publicly acknowledged for the first time that he was gay. “I know people ask me what my secret self is and I have to laugh,” Nimoy said. “I have no secrets left.”