ART: BOB GASOI (1932 - 1997)
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.