Current Exhibitions at PAAM Upcoming Exhibitions Previous Exhibitions Houghton Cranford Smith: Gifts to the PAAM Collection Curated by PAAM Executive Director, Christine McCarthy On view March 12 - May 2, 2010 exhibition checklist PAAM is very grateful to Florence Smith Shepard, daughter of the artist, for assembling this particular group of works for the PAAM collection. Her careful choices represent the diverse and expansive range of talent as expressed by Smith throughout his prolific career. - Christine McCarthy A recent acquisition of more than one hundred exemplary paintings and drawings by American artist Houghton Cranford Smith will be on view at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) March 12 through May 2, 2010.  Depicting Provincetown landscapes and scenes from all corners of the globe, these pieces demonstrate the wide array of geographic and cultural influences that informed Smith's work. The artist's unique creative process and mastery of technique are made evident in this large collection of important works. Throughout his career, Smith maintained a very personal approach to surface and composition, using vivid color and bold brush strokes. He wrote, "The role of a painter is to make color and form work together so you invent your own world on canvas."   A skilled painter, Smith spent most of his years in the fortunate position of being able to simply create art. He harmoniously merged his creative aspirations and passion for travel, amassing a large body of work; masterful paintings and preliminary drawings that are unique and colorful depictions of the people and places that inspired him. In their publication, The Purist at Pawleys: Houghton Cranford Smith, Leeds and Katherine H. Richardson describe Smith as, "a rugged individualist who purposefully removed himself from the artistic mainstream. [He] did not follow any single aesthetic doctrine, but rather absorbed ideas from a range of sources to fashion a thoroughly independent career course."    Smith was born in New Jersey, and was encouraged by his family from an early age to pursue a creative career. He studied at the Nantucket School of Design and the Art Students League in New York where he studied with George Bridgman, William Merritt Chase and Kenneth Hayes Miller. He visited Provincetown during the summer of 1908, and became deeply involved in the early stages of the art colony. As a student, he acquired critical skills in color theory and composition from Charles Webster Hawthorne at Hawthorne's Cape Cod School of Art and from E. Ambrose Webster. In his memoir, The Provincetown I Remember, Smith relates how E. Ambrose Webster led him to a new way of dealing with color that went beyond Hawthorne's approach, revealing a Post-Impressionist color theory that Webster had gained from his study of Monet and exposure to the work of Melchers and Hitchcock. Smith then left for France, where he studied with Andre Lhote and other respected artists of the time. He traveled throughout Spain, Chile, Bermuda and across the United States.   Smith's work appears in private and public collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His memoir, The Provincetown I Remember, is available for purchase in the Museum Store at PAAM.  The fine pieces in this exhibition have been generously gifted to PAAM's permanent collection by Florence Smith Shepard and Houghton Cranford Smith, Jr. PAAM is deeply grateful to receive this gift, and is honored to care for these pieces that represent an important part of Provincetown's art history. Myths, Stories and the Life of Things  A Retrospective Exhibition of Anna Poor and Ellen LeBow   On view March 12 - May 2, 2010 Curated by Donald Beal and Maura Coughlin A mid-career survey of artwork by Ellen LeBow and Anna Poor is on view at the Provincetown Art Association Museum (PAAM) March 12 -May 2, 2010. The power of narrative generated by mythology, folklore, and religious visual culture is made evident in their work.  Both Poor and LeBow explore subject matter culled from a fantastic range of contemporary and historical sources: from ancient Egypt to modern-day Haiti and from Giacometti to Doctor Seuss.  Obsessively reconfiguring the objects and iconography of art history and world religions, both artists take critical positions of homage, ironic commentary or outright pillaging on their appropriated sources. They share a material fascination with the sensuous potentials of their materials, often working with innovative or unconventional techniques and combinations of mediums.   Over the course of many years of exhibiting in Wellfleet and Provincetown, LeBow has worked in a  wide range of media and styles. Her recent black and white clayboard panels are drawn with a knife, producing imagery both linear and carved, drawn with light, as layers of darkness are peeled away in the lowest of relief.  LeBow's recent imagery is a radical departure from the Haitian focus of her past work. Her massive, packed visual fields disgorge tumbling, cosmic "clouds" packed with an unlikely association of characters "cannibalized" from personal and artistic influences. The artist explains that "in the marriage of seemingly disparate things I try to weave a compressed assault of 'divine messengers' threatening at once to overpower and exalt the earth-bound life below."   Poor's sculptures are often diminutive in scale and engage the viewer in critical contemporary issues of appropriation, ownership, and the destruction of cultural objects.  Her anthropomorphic creatures, innocent bystanders in a violent world, combine contemporary sensibilities with age old, labor intensive sculptural techniques. Her art historical references, techniques, and objects span many centuries: from the alabaster, shell and lapis lazuli Syrian sculpture in the Iraq Museum and the carved limestone Assyrian wall relief depicting Prince Assurbanipal II's Lion Hunt in the British Museum, to Lorenzo Ghiberti's cast bronze Renaissance Gates of Paradise and Alberto Giacometti's Woman with her throat cut. Lovingly casting a delicate bronze rat skin or carving internal organs from luminous stone, Poor inverts taxonomies of the precious and the abject, creating gorgeous "stolen" or "faked" antiquities and enshrining these "relics" in glass boxes.   Both Poor and LeBow have their feet firmly planted in the art worlds of Boston and Cape Cod. Poor has taught at The Art Institute of Boston since 1992 and is a visiting associate professor.  She was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant in 2001 and her work is included in numerous collections, publications, and exhibitons world wide. She is a long time executive board member at Center for the Arts at Castle Hill in Truro, where she is currently the co-chair of education. She has widely exhibited thoughout the Northeast, and in New York City at the New Museum, the Sculpture Center, James Graham & Sons, AIR Gallery, Atlantic Gallery and the Caelum Gallery. She is a co-owner of ArtStrand contemporary gallery in Provincetown. Ellen LeBow has long worked as a commercial and fine artist as well as a local art critic. She has also established a sucessful collaborative art project, working with women artists of Matenwa, Haiti. More information about this program can be found at www.artmatenwa.org. The View from Here An exhibition created by the advanced portfolio students of Nauset Regional High School as part of the Student and Educator Curating Program On view March 12 - April 25, 2010 The Provincetown Art Association and Museum's (PAAM) Curating Program welcomes educators and students from schools along Cape Cod to create exhibitions in the museum's galleries.  The award-winning program, recognized by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod as an exemplary collaborative effort, has mounted over 70 exhibitions at PAAM over the past 18 years. Holly Hansen, Grade 12. In response to Albert Groll's untitled landscape, oil on canvas In February fifteen students from Nauset Regional High School's (NRHS) Advanced Portfolio Class, along with art teacher Ginny Ogden, participated in the Provincetown Art Association and Museum's most recent session of the Student and Educator Curating Program. Earlier in the school year students collaborated with the Cape Cod National Seashore, creating works of art out-of-doors. To continue this focus at PAAM, students worked with visiting artist Liz Carney, choosing a variety of land and seascapes from  the museum's permanent collection--including paintings, prints and drawings--and responding to these through art-making and creative writing.  NRHS students were also treated to a lecture on the history of landscape painting by Carney, as well as an introduction to her work and creative practice. The program will culminate with an exhibition featuring students' interpretive artwork and creative writing, along with work from PAAM's permanent collection --all providing a fresh perspective on art inspired by the natural world, and continuing the traditions of Provincetowns vibrant art community.  Albert Groll, untitled landscape, oil on canvas, collection of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum  The Student and Educator Curating Program is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Max and Bella Black Foundation, the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, and the Provincetown Visitors Service Board. If you are interested in learning more about this program, or if you would like to support it, please contact Lynn Stanley at 508.487.1750 x13 or lstanley@paam.org. Members' Open Exhibition: Go Green On view March 5 - April 18, 2010 Potluck opening reception March 12, 2010 at 6pm exhibition checklist A new exhibition at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) features work by emerging and established artists from within the PAAM membership. "Go Green," includes pieces that reference environmental awareness and/or are predominantly green in color. PAAM's Open Exhibitions are mounted throughout the year, and provide local artists with professional opportunities to show their work.  Open shows are hanged salon-style in PAAM's galleries, and often include pieces by more than 200 individual artists.  The number of artists participating in these exhibitions serves as a powerful reminder that Provincetown's creative legacy is alive and well.   PAAM is an important exhibition space for Cape Cod artists, and is also a valuable resource for education, promotion, and connection to the arts community of the region.  Members have acquired gallery representation, executed fine art sales, and received professional training as a result of their connection with the organization. Members' Juried Exhibition: "Paper Works" On view February 19 - March 28, 2010 exhibition checklist A members' exhibition, featuring works on paper created by emerging and established artists within the PAAM membership. "Paper Works" is curated by Betty Carroll Fuller, Director and Curator of the Higgins Gallery at Cape Cod Community College, where she is also Professor of Painting and Drawing. Works by: Joyce Aaron, Maryann Agresti, Corbett Barrow, Donald Beal, Karen Billard, Heather Blume, George Booth, Flint Butera, Chip Brock, Jean Fogg Brock, John Cira, Polly Coté, Kevin Cotter, John Crane, Michele Dangelo, Mary Doering, Peter Dutra, Bob Enos, Kate Fournaris, Miriam Fried, Nathalie Ferrier, Joe Fiorello, Betty Carroll Fuller, David Genest, Paige Gillies, Brent Harold, Lynn Kortenhaus, Robert Henry, Megan Hinton, John Howard, Jenny Humphreys, Priscilla Husted, Roger Carl Johanson, Martine Jore, Brian Kaplan, John Krenik, Paul Kelly, Peter McDonough, Andy Moerlein, Nancy Nicol, Carol Odell, Mark Palmer, Erna Partoll, Elisabeth Pearl, David B. Polley, Hugo Porcaro, Sky Power, Jim Rann, Sarah Riley, Siân Robertson, Marian Roth, Marcia J. Rubin, Julia Salinger, William Scully, Joe Trepiccione, Selina Trieff, Lisa Ventre, Mary Walker, TJ Walton, Tim Winn, Mike Wright, Jack Zaner, James Zimmerman Joe Fiorello Juror's Choice Sculpture untitled, 2010 found paper, beads, wire, 4 x 4 x 12" NFS Hugo Porcaro Juror's Choice Work on Paper untitled, 2010 recycled scraps and acrylic paint, 7 x 8 x 4" $125. Donald Beal Juror's Choice Drawing Seated Woman, 2004 graphite, red and white Conté on paper $1200. Represented by Berta Walker Gallery John Cira Juror's Choice Photography Shark, 2010 photograph, ink jet print, 24 x 30" $225. Represented by Cotuit Center for the Arts

Upcoming Exhibitions at PAAM Previous Exhibitions

MUSEUM HOURS :

October–May:
Noon to 5 pm, Thursday through Sunday,
and by appointment

Memorial Day–September:
11 am to 8 pm, Monday through Thursday
11 am to 10 pm, Friday
11 am to 5 pm, Saturday and Sunday

OFFICE HOURS :

9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday
9 am to 4 pm, Tues.–Sat., November through March

PAAM is located on the corners of Commercial and Bangs Streets in Provincetown's East End.

Take Route 6 to the Provincetown Center exit. Turn left at light onto Conwell Street, then left at stop sign onto Bradford Street, 1/2 mile on right is Bang Street, right one block to Commercial.

Parking is available in many private and municipal lots in Provincetown, and depending on the season, parking may be available on Commercial Street.

CALENDAR

EXHIBITIONS:

Members' Open Exhibition: GO GREEN
March 5-April 18, 2010
Opening: March 12, 6pm POTLUCK
Pick-up works: April 20, noon-4pm
Bring a dish for 6 or pay $7 at the door.

Nauset Regional High School's Advanced Portfolio Class Exhibition
March 12 - April 25, 2010
Opening March 12, 6pm POTLUCK
Potluck reception 6pm - bring a dish for 6 or pay $7 at the door.

Anna Poor and Ellen LeBow: Mid-Career Exhibition
March 12 - May 2, 2010
Opening March 12, 6pm POTLUCK

Recent Gifts Exhibition: Houghton Cranford Smith
March 12 - May 2, 2010
Opening March 12, 6pm POTLUCK

Juried Exhibition: NEW MEDIA
April 2 - May 16, 2010
Opening reception: April 23, 2010 @ 6pm
Juried by Joe Fiorello
Submit work electronically to cmccarthy@paam.org
Selection Notification: March 15, Installation: March 29-31 
 
 
Members' Juried Exhibition: SCULPTURE
April 23 - May 23, 2010
Juror: Stacey Latt Savage, Professor of Fine Arts, Sculpture at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 
Drop-off: April 20, noon-4pm
No size restriction, no wet works, no theme, art to hang must have proper hanging device.
Jurying: April 21
Check www.paam.org for included works April 22
Pick-up work not included: April 22, 23, 24, 25
Pick-up included work: May 25, noon-4pm
Opening reception: April 23, 6-8pm

MEMBER'S 12x12 EXHIBITION AND SILENT AUCTION
July 23-September 11, 2010
Free 12x12 panels for PAAM members currently until supplies run out... or make your own! No hanging devices or frames please.
Opening reception: July 23, 8-10pm
Closing reception: September 11, 4pm. Refreshments available.


FILMS:

filmArt@PAAM is back for another season!
Strangers in Strange Lands: Artists and Alienation in Fact and Fiction
Detailed descriptions of each film available here.

How to Draw a Bunny (2002)
Thursday, March 18, 2010, at 6:30 pm

Love is the Devil (1998)
Thursday, April 1, 2010, at 6:30 pm

Manufactured Landscapes (2006)
Thursday, April 15, 2010, at 6:30 pm

Ghost World (2001)
Thursday, May 6, 2010, at 6:30 pm

Initiated by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, and the Now in its sixth year, the Passport to the Arts has evolved from a small group of eight organizations to its current impressive roster of 40 cultural organizations, representing the very best of the arts and culture of Cape Cod.