Street Art – Shop Therapy

I have my own definition of “Street Art”. I take the term literally as any art than can be viewed from the street. It can be a mural on the side of building or a sculpture in someone’s yard. It is public art, there is no museum and no entrance fee. It can be something you place in your yard if you don’t mind a visit from your local HOA. It can be sublime, amusing or offensive. Over the years I’ve photographed many examples

Bob Gasoi

If you walked along Commercial Street in Provincetown in the late 1980s you couldn’t avoid seeing the storefront of Shop Therapy, a store that sells sex toys, incense, bongs, beads and clothing. What was impressive about the store was that the exterior was completely covered with the artwork of Bob Gasoi.

Controversy

Not everyone appreciated Bob’s artwork, it became quite an issue as reported by the Cape Cod Wave Magazine :

A firestorm erupted in 1988 when Bob Gasoi’s controversial murals debuted on the facade of the 346 Commercial Street, Provincetown landmark, Shop Therapy.

Shop owners had begun the annual off-season ritual of boarding up the windows and doors of stores up and down Commercial Street in anticipation of Cape Cod’s punishing winter. It was innocently suggested by the town council that perhaps the blight could be brightened up by using the rows of ugly plywood as a canvas for art. The Gasoi murals were created on sheets of plywood and then screwed to Shop Therapy’s exterior. It was not long before the entire building disappeared behind one giant collage of 4x8s which became one big problem when the community tried to resolve the differences between the mural supporters and its detractors.

The murals were a collaboration. Shop Therapy’s owner Ronny Hazel would feed stories about his own world travels and experiences to the artist Gasoi who would regurgitate the tales into scenescapes from the Renaissance, The Bible, Alice in Wonderland, 60’s psychedelia, Eastern erotica, comic books and science fiction. There were cherubs, men wearing nothing but wristwatches, lactating figures (an ode to the Giambologna’s Fountain of Neptune), monsters crushing the Pilgrim Monument, mermaids, flesh-eating aliens and men holding fruit trays. Faces and bodies were morphed into the likeness of members of the Shop Therapy family along with local hangers-on, local politicians and members of local law enforcement.

Hovering across the top of the murals, in foot-high gold lettering, was the John F. Kennedy quote, “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, you must see the artist’s face to follow his vision wherever it may take them.”

The murals left an indelible mark on the hundreds of thousands of visitors who paraded down Commercial Street for years to come. Some parents stood with their families and gazed upon the spectacle with awe while others threw their hands over their children’s eyes and ran for the dunes. The local community has always consisted in part of a devout population while others found themselves not quite as open-minded as they once thought they were. They gathered up the pitchforks and torches and brought petitions to the local governing fathers claiming Bob’s brushwork leaned more toward pornography than art. Disgusting and offensive were but a few of the adjectives being thrown about.

The town selectman were flummoxed and turned the matter over to the then Provincetown Police Chief Meads who prompty snapped photos to be shipped off to the district attorney.

The formal response read, “As you are perhaps aware, the whole matter with regards to what constitutes obscenity, freedom of expression, and interpretation of artwork is a sensitive issue. In this instance, it is virtually a no-win situation for any board of selectman in any town to serve as moral judges or to determine what constitutes an art form.

While we may share your concern and displeasure, our only legal recourse was to refer the matter to law enforcement officers, which we have done.”

Source: Cape Cod Wave Magazine

Still there in 2004

A few years later when I visited Provincetown I noticed that the painting had changed, the “Garden of Delights” motif was gone as well as the nudity. However John F, Kennedy’s 1963 comments about art was prominently displayed along the roof line.

Same shop new art – July 26, 2022

Bob Gasoi died in 1997 of natural causes. The shop is still covered with murals but not his. Something has been lost… or has it? Note the archway on the right side of the building.

Bob Gasoi Memorial Alley

To the right of the building just visible in the previous photo is an arch way to an alley. There one can find a collection of the works that once graced the exterior of Shop Therapy. It is a whimsical place and well worth the visit.