"It started in September 1989," says Howard Yezerski, proprietor of Howard Yezerski Gallery on Newbury Street and originator of "Paper Prayers," a moving exhibition he mounts every December to benefit the Boston Pediatric and Family AIDS Project. For "Paper Prayers," artists ranging from the well-known to the still-in-elementary-school contribute small meditative paintings on paper, each 12 by 4 inches, which are hung in long rows in Yezerski’s back gallery without price tags, and often without attribution. Visitors can take the works right off the wall, leaving voluntary contributions that run anywhere from $1 to more than $500 in the nearby donation box.
"December 1 had been designated as international AIDS Awareness Day [in 1988], and it was originally observed as a Day without Art to commemorate artists being lost to this epidemic," Yezerski remembers. "In the fall of 1989, there was a meeting of different arts organizations around Boston wanting to do something here." After exploring several ideas, Yezerski decided he wanted to create a simple installation with no single artist or ego. "Paper Prayers" was inspired by the Japanese tradition of offering painted strips of paper as a wish for good health; he invited artists to do something modest — "we suggested they might want to tear up an old drawing to donate." Soon the gallery was filled with beautiful vertical paper offerings. "We were giving with no strings attached," says Yezerski. Over the years, he feels the unusual exhibition has helped artists to look at their own work differently, and it’s kept reminding him that "when you give something away, things come back to you that you didn’t expect." Now in its 14th year, "Paper Prayers" will open with a reception this Saturday.
In past years, Barbara Krakow Gallery has teamed up with Yezerski to present related exhibitions to benefit AIDS research. This year, Krakow is doing her own thing, offering small works by more than 150 artists, each priced at $350 (a real deal for art of this caliber) in "Benefit Exhibition for World AIDS Day," which also opens this Saturday. All proceeds go to either the Boston Pediatric AIDS Project or African AIDS Initiative International — you can choose to make your donation local or global. Krakow stresses that "our yearly AIDS exhibition truly depends on the generosity of the artists and the energetic participation of the public to raise money and awareness. In years past, the response has been overwhelming." Ditto the generosity of these gallery owners.
The Museum of Fine Arts marks its 12th consecutive participation in World AIDS Day with an installation by Museum School student Nicholas Des Jardins that responds to the theme of the 2002 World AIDS Day campaign: "Stigma and Discrimination." The MFA will also present several screenings of the short film "Does Anyone Die of AIDS Anymore?", and it has invited representatives from the Fenway Community Health Center to be on hand to provide useful information and answer questions about HIV and AIDS, which continue wreak worldwide devastation.
"Paper Prayers 14" is at Howard Yezerski Gallery, 14 Newbury Street, from November 30 to December 24, with an opening reception this Saturday, November 30, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Call (617) 262-0550. "Benefit Exhibition for World AIDS Day" is at Barbara Krakow Gallery, 10 Newbury Street, from November 30 to December 21. Call (617) 262-4490. Nicholas Des Jardins’s artwork is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts’ West Wing, 465 Huntington Avenue, through December 2, and the film "Does Anyone Die of AIDS Anymore" will show in the MFA’s Remis Auditorium throughout the day on December 1. For information about MFA events, call (617) 267-9300.
