Brian Ulrich (born 1971) is an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

known for his photographic exploration of consumer culture.

Life and work

Ulrich was born in

Northport, New York Northport is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Huntington, New York, Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, New York (state), New ...

, and lives in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. He received a BFA in photography from

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

in Akron, Ohio (1996) and an MFA in photography from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

(2004). He has taught photography at Columbia College Chicago and Gallery 37, both in Chicago; and at the University of Akron. He is an Associate Professor of Photography at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

. 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 A dead mall, also known as a ghost mall or zombie mall, is a shopping mall that has low consumer traffic or is deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in North America are considered "dead" when they have no surviving anchor store or successor ...

s. Ulrich works with a combination of 4×5 large format and

medium format Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the used in 35&n ...

cameras, and also incorporates found objects as sculpture, juxtaposed with his photographs on gallery walls.

Publications

Publications by Ulrich

*''Is This Place Great or What.'' New York: Aperture; Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. . *''Closeout: Retail Relics and Ephemera.'' Anderson Gallery, 2013. With an interview with and an essay by Will Steacy.

Publications with contributions by Ulrich

*''MP3: Midwest Photographers Project.'' New York: Aperture, 2006. .

Exhibitions

Solo

* ''12 x 12: Shoppers,''

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is on ...

(2005) * ''Copia,''

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is an art museum in La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the ...

(2006–2007); Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS (2008)

Group

* ''Manufactured Self,'' Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL (2005) * ''On the Scene,''

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, Chicago, IL (2005) * ''Photocentric,'' Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN (2005) * ''MP3,'' Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, and Brian Ulrich, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, (2006) * ''Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children,''

DeCordova Museum The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the southern shore of Flint's Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest of Boston. It was established in 1950, and is the largest park of its k ...

, Lincoln, MA, (2008) * ''World's Away: New Suburban Landscapes,''

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

, Minneapolis, MN; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA (2008) * ''Made in Chicago, Photographs from the LaSalle Bank Collection,''

Chicago Cultural Center The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Cultural Center houses the city's official reception venue, where the Mayor of Chicago, M ...

, Chicago, IL (2008)

Awards

*2007:

Photo District News ''Photo District News'' (or ''PDN'') was an American monthly trade journal, trade publication for professional photographers, published from 1980 to January 2020. The publication took its name from New York City's photo district, an area of photo ...

30 Emerging Photographers to Watch *2009:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in photography from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

Collections

Ulrich's work is held in the following permanent collections *

: 1 print (as of September 2020) *

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

: 4 prints (as of September 2020) *

Museum of Contemporary Photography A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

, Chicago: 17 prints (as of September 2020)

References

External links

*
Interview at Lost in E Minor

Interview at the Style Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulrich, Brian University of Akron faculty Columbia College Chicago faculty Columbia College Chicago alumni University of Akron alumni Photographers from Chicago Photographers from New York (state) 1971 births Living people People from Northport, New York