Press Release
An exhibition of photographs, entitled “Wanderer,” by Utah based photographer Andrew McAllister will be on view from Nov. 7 through Dec. 4 at Gallery East in the Central Instruction Building on the campus of Utah State University Eastern.
The photographs in this exhibit are the third in a trilogy of exhibitions he’s had at Gallery East over the period of about eight years. “For this third show, I continue on my quest photographing the intermountain west,” he said.
McAllister explained, “These 30 photos explore visual tropes related to movement, thresholds, barriers and symbolic encounters. They capture moments of joy and contemplation. Each photo works individually, but I have edited and arranged them in the gallery to create something between a narrative and a non-narrative that approximates the experience of what traveling to capture them was like, both on foot and in motion, in rural and in urban settings.”
“The first show at Gallery East, ‘Photographic Observations by A New Westerner’ (2015), was a warm up to the visual potential here in the west and established areas of interest and approaches to subject. The second show, ‘Towns Less Occupied’ (2017), being a concentrated look at the built environment of small towns and as a canvas for exploration of ‘Hopperesque’ light and ridged composition.”
The images in this exhibit were taken with less attention to formalities of set-up and careful composition. “These new photographs are from a series of road trips I took during COVID (2020-22) where I wanted to see if I could photograph more ephemeral moments as experienced in contrast to my other formal approach to collecting,” he said.
His road trips were inspired by other photographers who had long photographing expeditions, living out of their vehicle, and being socially detached or distanced from people, as it was during the pandemic. “The first thing I saw out the window when I awoke, things on the side of the road, shadows, birds in flight. To contrast the trips, I did long walks looking at structures that seem permanent but are actually in transitional states. The house with the broken tree, the fading old mural, the question mark, glass reflections and more.”
“The selecting of images was to create something that hinted at a narrative without being specific, as if I was remembering flickering moments of a long journey,” he explained. “Since the subject is more personal than a collecting or typology project, I chose to print them at a smaller, more intimate size.”
The exhibit, “Wanderer,” will be on view through Dec. 4. Students, faculty, staff and the public are invited. The gallery is located in the Central Instruction Building. A reception and artist’s talk will be held on Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The gallery is free and open to the public during the academic year. Gallery East’s Fall 2023 hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed weekends and holidays.
For questions, contact Noel Carmack at (435)613-5241 or by email at noel.carmack@usu.edu.
