Stateline Sports: New Photo Exhibition by Larry Vanier Is On View
Grand Manan Island, and downtown White River Junction
Splinters. You can almost feel them sting your fingertips even as you’re tempted to reach out and touch this photo by Larry Vanier. And the image speaks to the inevitable passage of time, as most of the structures in this scene (photo, above) have pretty much sunk into oblivion. Larry can point out what is still standing (very little) and what has been lost. That’s because he’s been taking photographs in the same places for decades.
One of his most beloved spots is Grand Manan Island, about an 8 hour drive from the Upper Valley to Blacks Harbor, New Brunswick, where a ferry to the island itself adds another 1.5 hours to the trip. As of 1884 and for years thereafter, Grand Manan was the largest supplier of smoked herring in the world; now it is mostly lobster. Author Willa Cather wrote there; John James Audubon painted.
Vanier visits and camps there every year (the only exception was when COVID restrictions made it impossible), where many of the 2595 or so inhabitants sometimes greet him with “ah, you’re the photographer.” He views himself as “on vacation. Everyone else [who sometimes end up as the subjects in his photos] is in the business of living, working, going home for dinner.” If you’ve never been to Grand Manan, you’ll get a good sense of it from his images of this fishing-focused island in the Bay of Fundy.
An earlier post on Artful (click here) covered an exhibition of Vanier’s work in the tiny restroom at Stateline Sports in West Lebanon, NH. (Larry works at Stateline.) The restroom exhibition is still there, but some new space opened up temporarily in Stateline’s lower level. Its walls offer more square footage, providing an opportunity to view larger prints from Larry’s archives.
This series of photographs will remain on view until mid-February or so, when hockey inventory will need to be moved into what is serving as the now downstairs gallery space. The small restroom exhibition continues, with a rotation of photos.
As dear to him as Grand Manan Island and its environs are to Larry, he likes taking photos wherever he finds himself, including the Upper Valley. White River Junction aficionados will appreciate the photo, below, of Revolution, a downtown clothing store.
Make this quirky gallery a destination for viewing, or remember to head downstairs if you’re already there at Stateline buying new running shoes or outfitting your kids with their sports equipment needs of the season. Maybe ask for Larry if he’s there and has a free minute or two—he’s the best guide to his work.
(Photos by permission of and courtesy of Larry Vanier.)
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word..