Preface: The History and Legacy of this Book
The original idea for the "7" book was to celebrate the seventh year of Tandy's business, Belew Design. It was also his seventh year of living creatively with AIDS. He decided to dedicate the book to his goal of making a creative contribution in the healing of the AIDS crisis.
"I believe that a key element to overcoming any 'terminal' disease is self expression. Survival is a form of creative expression and, conversely, creative expression facilitates recovery. It is essential that artists with AIDS be able to continue their creative work."
Tandy commissioned 7 artists to illustrate the 7 phrases he selected. Each one, on their own, selected a different phrase. Tandy wrote the story coordinating the themes during a 7-day healing quest to Mexico. As he tells in his own words, the number 7 has always been a magical part of his life.
Tandy produced mock-ups of the "7" book, in full size (6.5" X 12.5" tall) and in miniature (3" X 5"). He prepared all the galleys for printing, and had begun work on a second book. But he never saw his "7" book in print.
Tandy was the first person to volunteer and one of the first to undergo the Compound Q treatment in May, 1989. It was a promising protocol, and he joined the pioneers at Project Inform to test this new direction. Unfortunate side effects of the rapid die off of the infected cells in his brain made him very ill at times, and he slowly lost the creative spark which fueled his creativity and his 'magic.' He moved to a country home near Ashland, Oregon near his family that fall. He died on May 3rd, 1990.
In Tandy's memory, I had 7,000 copies printed by one of the printers who did a lot of his print projects. I presented the books to Visual Aid in San Francisco, as Tandy had wanted: to help Visual Aid raise funds so that art supplies could be given to artists with AIDS. This didn't make sense to me because the book was so personal. I could not see how it could be instrumental in raising funds for AIDS. I nearly lost faith in the magic which had happened in every project to which Tandy put his attention and intention.
The "7" books were too beautiful to use as mailers seeking contributions, or even as thank you gifts at fund-raising dinners. It became clear that the appropiate way to sell them would be in a retail outlet, where people could look at the book and buy it from a merchant. Yet the book would not fit into inventories or displays of book stores or card shops.
Without a way to sell the books, Visual Aid organizers, friends of Tandy, and The Names Project generated the "Under One Roof" concept, a place where AIDS service organizations now sell gifts and art works to raise funds for ongoing service in the community.
Print copies of the "7" book have long since been sold out, but Under One Roof is now a successful gift store in San Francisco that continues to generate millions of dollars each year to support AIDS services in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Thank you again, Tandy!
Related pages: Tandy's art, costumes, and life are documented further on the Living Legacies of AIDS site, including "before 7" and "the rest of the story" about Compound Q.
The original mock-ups
Images of the small and full size books Tandy created as mock-ups for the printer.
Under One Roof in San Francisco
