Michael Alpert Recent Photographs

Michael Alpert: Recent Photographs are black and white images which record an unvarnished Maine. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s dictum, “Pictures must not be too picturesque” has resonance in these spare, detailed photographs which are rendered with unsentimental precision.

Taken during the past two years, Alpert’s photographs often depict places people drive by daily, often without consideration. Frequently, Michael Alpert has been there as well, recording the built Maine environment for our closer inspection. His timeless images are less concerned with the natural beauty of the landscape but concentrate instead on the houses, barns, factories and monuments - portraying these signposts of our history with an awful, quiet beauty.

Michael Alpert is a Bangor resident. His work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in 2004, which also published a book of his photographs entitled, A Maine Portfolio.