Maryanne Ventrice Band Photography @ Con Artist Gallery

Con Artist Gallery is a collective dedicated to showcasing a rotating line-up of artists, designed as a one-night-only event on Wednesdays, down under through the steel grate on 119 Ludlow Street. Brian Sevrin is the creator of the workshop/artists collective, where items produced on the premises by the members are sold in the front half of the space, and the workshop turned gallery in the rear. The Con Artist concept is to bypass the gallery system creating opportunities for artists to show their work and connect within a community.

Last night Con Artist featured the band photography by Maryanne Ventrice entitled “More Guitar In The Monitor.” Maryanne has become a staple in the indie music scene documenting bands in Brooklyn and Manhattan since 2007 in venues like Death by Audio, Union Hall, Cake Shop, and Bruar Falls. She is there with her heavy bag of tools and workhorse ethic if there is a show. Her DIY approach to photography and honest, no-nonsense shooting reflects the love she brings to the genre of band photography. She has the patience to capture moments instead of going for the obvious. 

I have seen her work at many shows where she unobtrusively moves around to document different angles or crowd interactions. Just as straightforward as Maryanne is as a person, her gallery debut was no different. Sheets of photo paper dangled unframed from wires attached to the ceiling pipes around the room's perimeter. Her non-pretentious work hung like classic compositions displaying the beauty of The National’s lead singer Matt Berninger intertwined with the mic chord, or James Harvey of Drink Up Buttercup, his hands rising up in the air to soak up the enthusiastic crowd and capturing the intensity of lead singer Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus. Maryanne is a no-frills woman, totally is who she is, honest, hard-working, and approachable. To me, she is a “Trooper Photographer” whose efforts contribute to moving the music culture forward.

Flicker Set List of Photos Displayed:

The Lisps, Union Hall / Liars, Bowery Ballroom / Hopewell, Death By Audio / Dinowalrus, Cake Shop / Choir of Young Believers, Le Poisson Rouge / Drink Up Buttercup, Bruar Falls / We Were Promised Jet Packs, Bowery Ballroom / Get Haunted, Littlefield / The Dears, The Bell House / Tim Fite, The Bell House / Tokyo Police Club, Bowery Ballroom / Holly Miranda, Mercury Lounge / Band of Horses, Bowery Ballroom / Liam Finn, The Bell House / Sian Alice Group, Mercury Lounge / Black Taxi, Blender Theater / The Wrens, Bowery Ballroom / Titus Andronicus, Galapagos / Grooms, Knitting Factory / Fanfarlo, Piano’s / Free Energy, Littlefield / Frightened Rabbit, Webster Hall / Novella, Glasslands / The Bell House / Great Lake / Drink Up Buttercup, Music Hall of Williamsburg / A Place To Bury Strangers, Europa / Japandroids, Swimmers, The Bell House / The National, Bowery Ballroom / Kyp Malone, Rain Machine /The Bell House / Serena Maneesh, Mercury Lounge / Pet Shop Boys, Hammerstein Ballroom /

Drink Up Buttercup; Hot @ Northside Festival

Drink Up Buttercup cools the heat on a hot night at Berry Park in Brooklyn, leaving their garbage cans behind and clearing the air for the sound of upgraded instruments and urgent harmonies. DUB clicks on the refresh button playing their familiar songs from their release Born and Thrown on a Hook with a refreshing twist making a live experience never stale and full of surprises.

I like to document the band's visual sets, and new additions are optical illusion amps and the colorful use of duct tape. The mannequin's mouth was covered with duct tape masking a human expression from an inanimate object. But no one there was expressionless, and this blogger, as usual, could not be contained.

My Flickr Set

Spending time with photographer Maryanne Ventrice is always a treat, her shots can be seen here at the Brooklyn Vegan, and below is the flyer for her gallery show this week.