Sound Proof

Overview

‘Sound Proof: The Photography of Matthew Thorsen, Vermont Music Images 1990-2000’ is an exhibit of black and white photography by Matthew Thorsen, the go-to photographer for Burlington-area bands during the 1990s. Countless bands sought his talent and throughout the course of his mild-mannered career he was at the forefront of documenting local music history. Matt’s work is integral to the historic record of Vermont’s musical heritage. The photographs in this exhibit were taken in the mid- to late-1990’s at a time when Matt worked with film. He moved to the digital format and these prints have become a priceless — and artful – reminder of a receding era. Thorsen took hundreds of photos for bands, Good Citizen Magazine, Seven Days Newspaper and himself as an artist, chronicling the local music scene of the era. Big Heavy World volunteers curated the exhibit and with the generous partnership and support of Seven Days, Creative Habitat and other sponsors toured it around Vermont in 2011 & 2012. Matt passed away in 2019.

The core exhibit is comprised of 115 black and white photographs with corresponding descriptive audio. The interpretive audio features Thorsen describing the subject and context of images, in most cases followed with a song by the band or musician of the photo. Take an audio-visual stroll through Vermont’s music scene of the 1990s, below.

Statement by the Artist

“I was raised working in a family-owned business, having duties including photographing procedures and inventory. What I learned in the lab, I applied in the field, forming the photo club and being its president for four years in high school. After three years of college photography classes, I decided to apply my trade and left the UVM photo department. Fortunately, about the same time, I won second place in Kodak’s largest photo contest and used the money to travel extensively across Asia. I crossed the country of China twice — once to Mount Everest and second through the Gobi desert — photographing endlessly. I spent months in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal and India, where I began to understand what light was saying to me and what I could say with light.

I ended my travels in the French Alps where I trained in mountaineering photography and climbed many of the highest passes and peeks. While in France, I maintained a darkroom, photographed for Alps Hockey magazine, tutored blind students and studied French at the University of Lyon.

Back in the United States, my friends and I began publishing a regional music magazine, Good Citizen. During that time I photographed every up and coming band in the area and many of its longstanding legends. As our magazine diversified, I produced photo art for album covers and promotions. Good Citizen merged with recently started local alt-weekly Seven Days. About the same time, Seven Days hired me as their sole photographer. I have been photographing for Seven Days for the past seventeen years.

I have been fortunate to photograph many of Vermont’s most interesting and newsworthy individuals, publishing more than 4,000 photos. I have worked closely with many grassroots and professional organizations. At one time candidate Howard Dean considered me for a White House photographer position. These associations have put my photos in a spectrum of households throughout Vermont.”

— Matthew Thorsen, 2011