Salem Arts Association's next show, "Thresholds," will be a two-part exhibit to benefit the nonprofit and Salem's Temple Shalom.
According to Salem Arts, "Thresholds: The Mezuzah" calls for artists to decorate small wooden containers, or mezuzot, which hold a parchment inscribed with biblical passages, affixed by many Jewish households to door frames.
"Thresholds: Members Show" will run concurrent to "Thresholds: The Mezuzah." It is a curated members exhibit featuring artwork exploring the theme of thresholds, according to Gary LaParl, president of Salem Arts.
LaParl said Larry Taitelbaum of Swampscott approached him about the mezuzot portion of the show.
Taitelbaum, a member of Temple Shalom, said he thought of the idea when in Charlottesville, Va., while attending a fundraiser for his son's orchestra.
The art community had painted brand-new violins, which were then auctioned. Taitelbaum thought to do the same with mezuzot, and talked to LaParl after clearing it with the temple's board.
The temple then bought almost 200 wooden mezuzot to provide to those who answered Salem Arts' call to artists.
"I had a big fear we wouldn't get anyone to do this," Taitelbaum said. "Well, guess what? We had almost 80 completed units sent in."
Most of the mezuzot were decorated by North Shore artists, but Taitelbaum said one was sent in from Argentina by a young woman who wanted to address her "Jewishness" through the piece.
Fifty percent of the mezuzot sales will go to the temple, 40 percent to the artists and the rest to Salem Arts.
LaParl said that 20 pieces were sent in for "Thresholds: Members Show," and they range from abstract to realism, in mediums like paint, mixed media, photography, even an assemblage piece by Jeannette Baker of Marblehead.
In the call, LaParl said Salem Arts gave the artists an idea and definitions of thresholds, and invited them to make their own interpretation.
