Collection

The Permanent Collection

Our permanent collection includes more than 5,350 works, capturing over a century of artistic vitality in Provincetown and on the Outer Cape.

This database offers a window into that rich legacy and our ongoing efforts to showcase contemporary artists working here. More than 2,700 pieces in our collection lack digital images. Our efforts to digitize the rest of our collection are ongoing; to contribute to this critical project to digitize the PAAM collection, please contact James Robertson, Chief Development Officer, by email at jrobertson@paam.org or visit: paam.org/donate/

COLLECTION IN THE COMMUNITY

PAAM regularly loans work from its permanent collection to community organizations and businesses, expanding public access to and appreciation of these important works of art. Works from the collection can currently be seen at Seamen’s Bank (Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet locations), Seashore Point in Provincetown, La Tanzi, Spaulding & Landreth LLP offices in Provincetown and Orleans, and David Marshall Datz, PC office in Provincetown and Orleans. To discuss arranging an artwork loan for your business or organization, please contact PAAM Registrar Madeleine Larson (mlarson@paam.org).

Frontal Street Scene

Art

5 men in hats, toned in blue

Description

Five men stride towards you in a line. They are dressed identically in suits and brimmed hats. Each figure, a near clone of the next, fades into the other. The quintet seemingly operates as one entity rather than as individuals. In the movement of abstract figurative expressionism, Lester Johnson paints his "Frontal Street Scene." Critics commented on the early works of Lester Johnson, identifying a Bertolt Brecht-like portrayal of the human masses. Theatre practitioner and playwright Bertolt Brecht posed the theory that humans are not isolated entities, but products of their social and historical context. Through this interpretation, with their automatic, robotic unison, the five figures of Johnson’s "Frontal Street Scene" represent the lemmings of social authority. By reminding oneself of the parallels with Brecht’s commentary on humans, Johnson’s figures take on the identity and context of the viewer's perception of society as a whole. Additionally, Johnson’s work toyed with the concept of finding a balance between appearance and disappearance. By adorning matching attire, the five figures' individual identities disappear. A mass appears, and group-think forms. Well known for his use of the distancing effect, Brecht implemented techniques to ensure audiences could not emotionally identify with the characters of his plays. Without the emotional distraction, audiences were left to contemplate and further analyze the social commentary Brecht made. The same practice occurs here. The identity of the five figures, unknown, therefore changes with the experiences of the viewer. Johnson’s figures take on the role of the imposers of the societal pressures feared in all previous and subsequent pieces. They are the mask dealers, standing on the street corner, selling conformity.

Artist Information

Lester Johnson

Entry/Object ID

1871.Pr07

Artwork Details

Date made: n.d.

Medium: Lithograph

Dimensions (h x w): 24-1/4 in x 31-3/4 in

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type: Signature

Acquisition

Accession: 1871

Credit Line: Gift of Dick and Judy Wurtman, 2007

Exhibitions

Go Figure: Selections from the Permanent Collection