Brian Ulrich
Encyclopedia
Brian Ulrich is an American
photographer known for his photographic exploration of consumer culture.
Born in Northport, New York
, Ulrich lives in Richmond, Virginia
.
In 2001 in response to a national call for citizens to bolster the American economy through shopping, Ulrich began a project to document consumer culture. This project, Copia, is a series of large scale photographs of shoppers, retail spaces, and displays of goods. Initially focused on big-box retail establishments and shoppers, the series expanded to include thrift stores, back rooms of retail businesses, art fairs and most recently empty retail stores and dead mall
s. Ulrich's work is held in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Art Institute of Chicago
; and Museum of Contemporary Photography
, Chicago. Photo District News
named Ulrich as one of 30 Emerging Photographers of 2007. In 2009 he was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
in photography.
Group:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer known for his photographic exploration of consumer culture.
Born in Northport, New York
Northport, New York
Northport is a village in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 7,606. Students attend the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District....
, Ulrich lives in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
In 2001 in response to a national call for citizens to bolster the American economy through shopping, Ulrich began a project to document consumer culture. This project, Copia, is a series of large scale photographs of shoppers, retail spaces, and displays of goods. Initially focused on big-box retail establishments and shoppers, the series expanded to include thrift stores, back rooms of retail businesses, art fairs and most recently empty retail stores and dead mall
Dead mall
A dead mall or greyfield is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is dated or deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in the United States are considered "dead" when they have no surviving anchor store or successor that could serve as an entry into or...
s. Ulrich's work is held in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego , in San Diego, California, USA, is an art museum focused on the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art from 1950 to the present.-History:...
; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
; and Museum of Contemporary Photography
Museum of Contemporary Photography
The Museum of Contemporary Photography was founded in 1984 by Columbia College Chicago. It is well known for an active program and curating which discovers many emerging and mid-career artists...
, Chicago. Photo District News
Photo District News
Photo District News is an American monthly trade publication for professional photographers. PDN was first published in 1980. The publication takes its name from New York City's photo district, an area of photo businesses that was once located in Flatiron District.Originally named New York Photo...
named Ulrich as one of 30 Emerging Photographers of 2007. In 2009 he was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in photography.
Selected exhibitions
Solo:- Thrift and Dark Stores", Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY (2009)
- Copia, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS (2008)
- Thrift, Quality Pictures, Portland, OR (2008)
- Copia, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, NY (2007)
- Thrift, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, IL (December 1, 2006–2007)
- Copia, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2006–2007)
- Copia, Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco (2006)
- 12 x 12: Shoppers, Museum of Contemporary Art, ChicagoMuseum of Contemporary Art, ChicagoThe Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
(2005)
Group:
- Dystopia", Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2009)
- Made in Chicago, Photographs from the LaSalle Bank Collection:, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL (2008)
- World's Away: New Suburban Landscapes, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN & Carnegie Museum of Art , Pittsburgh, PA (2008)
- "Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children", DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, (2008)
- Chicagraphy", Galerie f5,6, Munich, Germany (2007)
- Art Basel Miami Beach, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, (2006, 2007)
- MP3, Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, and Brian Ulrich, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, (2006)
- Photocentric, Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN (2005)
- On the Scene, Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, Chicago, IL (2005) - Contemporary American Photography/Internationalen Fototage Mannheim, Cologne (2005)
- Manufactured Self, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL (2005)
Publications
- "The Gospel of Consumption", Orion, Jeffrey Kaplan, May/June, 2008
- "La Fin De L'Illusion", Le Monde Magazine, Jeffrey Madrick, July 2008
- "Brian Ulrich: Thrift", D La Republicca, June 2008
- "Fear of Fallowing", Harper’s Magazine, Steven Stoll, March 2008
- "Brian Ulrich: The Tough Go Shopping", ARTnews, Richard B. Woodward, November, 2007
- "They Walk (Silently) Among You: The Suburban Photographers", The New York Times, Benjamin Genocchio, September 30, 2007
- "Copia: Where Do You Go to Shop?", Lens CultureLens CultureLens Culture is a subscription-free, online magazine of international contemporary photography, inclusive of all genres of photography. The magazine contains photo book reviews, essays, analysis and criticism about contemporary photography and culture...
, 2007 - "You Are What You Grow", The New York Times Magazine, April 22, 2007
- Light and Lens: Photography in the Digital Age, Robert Hirsch, Focal Press, 2007
- Mother JonesMother Jones (magazine)Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
magazine, ‘Happiness’, March/April 2007 - MP3: Midwest Photographers Project, “Copia”, Aperture Foundation, 2006
- ArtForumArtforumArtforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, ‘Brian Ulrich, Robert Koch Gallery’, Glen Helfand,October 2006 - Photography Quarterly, “Photography Now”, 2006
- AdbustersAdBustersThe Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia...
, #70 2007, #67 September/October 2006, #66 July/August 2006 - Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
Magazine, February 5, 2006 - The New York Times MagazineThe New York Times MagazineThe New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, September 2004
Sources
- Brian Ulrich at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago)
- Not If But When (Ulrich's site)
- Interview at Lost in E Minor
- Interview at the Style Press