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 makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in oth ...

known for his photographic exploration of consumer culture.

Life and work

Ulrich was born in

Northport, New York Northport is a historic maritime village on the northern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Initially designated Great Cow Harbour by 17th-century English colonists, the area was officially renamed Northport in 1837. ...

, and lives in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. He received a BFA in photography from

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

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

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and gradua ...

(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 the ...

. 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, zombie mall, or abandoned mall) is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in North America are considered "dead ...

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 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 contemporar ...

(2005) * ''Copia,''

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (or MCASD), in San Diego, California, US, is an art museum focused on the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art from 1950 to the present. Mission The stated mission of ...

(2006–2007);

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is an art museum that is part of Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. The Nerman Museum is named for donors Jerry and Margaret Nerman. It opened in October 2007, succeeding the college' ...

, 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 in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, Chicago, IL (2005) * ''Photocentric,'' Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN (2005) * ''MP3,''

Kelli Connell Kelli Connell (born 1974) is an American contemporary photographer. Connell is known for creating portraits, which may appear as self-portraits. Her work is held in the collections of the Columbus Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum o ...

, 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 30-acre sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the shore of Flint's Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest of Boston. It was established in 1950. It is the largest park of its kind ...

, 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 neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

, 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 that houses the city's official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed presi ...

, Chicago, IL (2008)

Awards

*2007:

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

30 Emerging Photographers to Watch *2009:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

in photography from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowships to professionals who have demonstrated exceptional ...

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. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Buil ...

: 4 prints (as of September 2020) *

Museum of Contemporary Photography The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography. The museum houses a permanent collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Project ...

, 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