Positivity
As an artist, physician, and gay man, Dr. Eric Avery found himself at the epicenter of the AIDS public health crisis beginning in the early 1980s. At first, Avery focused on his personal experience with the disease. Over the next three decades, his artwork and writing — showcased in this exhibit through more than 30 prints and books — began to broaden as Avery shared medical and policy information, tacking questions about risk factors and protective measures head-on. In his words: “If one person, after seeing one of my art actions, were motivated to change an HIV risk behavior and did not get HIV, then this would be my evidence that art can save lives.”
Eric Avery — AIDS Work: Through Dec. 11. Smith College Museum of Art, 20 Elm St., Northampton. (413) 585-2760, smith.edu/artmuseum.
— Hunter Styles
