‘Towns Less Occupied’ at Gallery East

    Gallery East’s third exhibit of the season,”Towns Less Occupied” by Logan photographer Andrew McAllister, will be on display  through Dec. 8 in USU Eastern’s Central Instructional Building.
     McAllister is from Akron, Ohio, and photographed Utah and Idaho’s “Towns Less Occupied” for the past six years.
     “As photographers go, consider me a hunter-gatherer,” he says of himself. “My greatest joy is to go out and photograph, to hunt for things I think are visually interesting or have a story. I then collect or group them into ways that fit.”
     McAllister does not have any preconceptions when he goes on photo excursions. “When I leave home I usually have no idea what I will find or what direction I may be pulled. This is a working method that I have used for the last 20 years, since my time as a student.”
 Inspired by early photos
    Even as a contemporary image maker, McAllister is inspired by great pioneer photographers. “My work is influenced by early survey photographers of the American West, FSA photographers of the 1930s and the father of modern photography, Eugene Atget,” he said.
     The 30 images in this collection are from towns and cities in Utah and Southern Idaho and include eight images for Price, Utah. “Shot digitally and presented in color, the images remind us of the camera’s ability to record in extreme detail and to see what one photographer found interesting in the ordinary landscape of towns less occupied,” McAllister said.
     Gallery East is free and open to the public during the academic year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed weekends and holidays. The artist’s reception is Friday, Nov. 10 from 6-8 p.m. “Towns Less Occupied” is part of USU Eastern’s Year of the Arts celebration.
     Any questions contact Noel Carmack, at 435-613-5241 or email noel.carmack@usu.edu