{{short description|American photographer (born 1971)}} right|thumb|300px|Photograph from Ulrich's ''Copia'' series '''Brian Ulrich''' (born 1971) is an American photographer known for his photographic exploration of consumer culture.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cleveland|first=Larissa|title=Collector: Collection/possession/persona|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kcpOzpFfXI0C&pg=PA19|year=2008|isbn=978-0-549-49063-0|page=19}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Life and work== Ulrich was born in Northport, New York,<ref name="mocp">{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.mocp.org/collection/mpp/past/ulrich_brian_.php|website=Museum of Contemporary Photography}}</ref> and lives in Providence, Rhode Island.{{cn|date=September 2020}} He received a BFA in photography from University of Akron in Akron, Ohio (1996) and an MFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago (2004).<ref name="mocp"/> He has taught photography at Columbia College Chicago and Gallery 37, both in Chicago; and at the University of Akron.<ref name="mocp"/> He is an Associate Professor of Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.risd.edu/people/brian-ulrich/|website=www.risd.edu}}</ref>
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 malls.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-01-08 |title=Images Reveal Unraveling of Rampant Consumerism (2) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-images-reveal-u/194359612/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |work=The Akron Beacon Journal |pages=E008}}</ref>
Ulrich works with a combination of 4×5 large format and medium format cameras,<ref>[http://www.lostateminor.com/2008/09/10/brian-ulrich/ "Brian Ulrich"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724080809/http://www.lostateminor.com/2008/09/10/brian-ulrich/ |date=2017-07-24 }}, ''Lost at E Minor,'' 10 September 2008. Retrieved on 2 August 2015.</ref> and also incorporates found objects as sculpture, juxtaposed with his photographs on gallery walls.<ref>[https://collectordaily.com/brian-ulrich-is-this-place-great-or-what-artifacts-and-photographs-saul/ "Brian Ulrich, Is This Place Great or What: Artifacts and Photographs @Julie Saul"], ''Collector Daily,'' New York, 6 April 2012. Retrieved on 1 August 2015.</ref>
==Publications== ===Publications by Ulrich=== *''Is This Place Great or What.'' New York: Aperture; Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. {{ISBN| 978-1597111928}}.<ref>{{cite news|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Is big beautiful? Brian Ulrich's decaying shopping malls - in pictures|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/gallery/2011/nov/11/brian-ulrich-empty-shopping-malls-in-pictures|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 November 2011|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> *''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. {{ISBN|978-1683951506}}.
==Exhibitions== ===Solo=== * ''12 x 12: Shoppers,'' Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2005)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=UBS 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work: Brian Ulrich|url=https://mcachicago.org/Exhibitions/2005/Brian-Ulrich|website=MCA}}</ref> * ''Copia,'' Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (2006–2007);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcasd.org/exhibitions/brian-ulrich-copia|title = Brian Ulrich: Copia|date = 21 August 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcasd.org/artists/brian-ulrich|title=Results – Search Objects – eMuseum}}</ref> Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, KS (2008)<ref>{{cite web|first1=JCCC Digital|last1=Department|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Richard Ross and Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.jccc.edu/exhibitions/2008-09-27-ross-ulrich-architecture-authority.html|website=www.jccc.edu}}</ref>
===Group=== * ''Manufactured Self,'' Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL (2005)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Manufactured Self|url=https://www.mocp.org/exhibitions/2000/5/manufactured-self.php|website=www.mocp.org}}</ref> * ''On the Scene,'' Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (2005)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=On the Scene: Jessica Rowe, Jason Salavon, Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/84/on-the-scene-jessica-rowe-jason-salavon-brian-ulrich|website=The Art Institute of Chicago|date=12 November 2005 }}</ref> * ''Photocentric,'' Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN (2005) * ''MP3,'' Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, and Brian Ulrich, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, (2006)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=MP3: Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.mocp.org/exhibitions/2000/6/mp3-kelli-connell,-justin-newhall,-brian-ulrich.php|website=www.mocp.org}}</ref> * ''Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children,'' DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, (2008)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children|url=https://decordova.org/art/exhibition/presumed-innocence-photographic-perspectives-children|website=decordova.org}}</ref> * ''World's Away: New Suburban Landscapes,'' Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN;<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes|url=http://walkerart.org/calendar/2008/worlds-away-new-suburban-landscapes|website=walkerart.org}}</ref> Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA (2008)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes|url=https://storyboard.cmoa.org/2014/10/worlds-away-new-suburbans-landscapes/|date=7 October 2014|website=Carnegie Museum of Art: Storyboard}}</ref> * ''Made in Chicago, Photographs from the LaSalle Bank Collection,'' Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL (2008)
==Awards== *2007: Photo District News 30 Emerging Photographers to Watch{{cn|date=September 2020}} *2009: Guggenheim Fellowship in photography from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/brian-ulrich/|website=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation}}</ref>
==Collections== Ulrich's work is held in the following permanent collections *Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego: 1 print (as of September 2020)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.mcasd.org/artists/brian-ulrich|date=5 December 2012|website=Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego}}</ref> *Museum of Fine Arts, Houston{{cn|date=September 2020}} *Art Institute of Chicago: 4 prints (as of September 2020)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Brian Ulrich|url=https://www.artic.edu/artists/102576/brian-ulrich|website=The Art Institute of Chicago|year=1971 }}</ref> *Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago: 17 prints (as of September 2020)<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2020-09-08|title=Museum of Contemporary Photography|url=https://www.mocp.org/info.php?s=Ulrich%252C+Brian&t=objects&type=all|website=Museum of Contemporary Photography}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|www.notifbutwhen.com}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20170724080809/http://www.lostateminor.com/2008/09/10/brian-ulrich/ Interview at Lost in E Minor] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090119051642/http://www.thestylepress.net/2007/09/12/brian-ulrich-not-if-but-when-interview/ Interview at the Style Press]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulrich, Brian}} Category:University of Akron faculty Category:Columbia College Chicago faculty Category:Columbia College Chicago alumni Category:University of Akron alumni Category:Photographers from Chicago Category:Photographers from New York (state) Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:People from Northport, New York