Artist Lecture, Ulrich, Kerry McDonnell

Gurnee, IL 2003 (of Copia-Retail), Film Photograph, Brian Ulrich, 2003

Granger, IN 2003 (of Copia-Retail), Film Photograph, Brian Ulrich, 2003

Kenosha, WI 2003 (of Copia-Retail), Film Photograph, Brian Ulrich, 2003

Brian Ulrich’s images speak for themselves. I found I was much more interested in his processes and the stories of his travels than his actual conceptual ideas behind the imagery. I absolutely understand his reasoning about consumerism equating patriotism after such events like 911 and the American public’s sort of- addiction-to shopping and the depression or sadness they hope it will relieve; then the purge of guilt afterwards, resulting in thrift shops. Ulrich easily made his points but the content of his images rang through his explanations, which I think he was very aware of, as he didn’t go into great depth about his conceptual means and kind of let the images do the talking.

I had a profound interest in the subject matter, which I believe was one of his goals. The fact that he shoots in such large formats really assists the audience in micro-analyzing and observing these spaces, and in cases where people are involved, their interaction with or role in the space. In his “chapter” Retail he discussed the products shot in these stores as becoming just as important or just as representative as the public. Companies and manufacturers create these products that will appeal to the public, and they do-they sell. Looking at these images is like looking at a self-portrait. The fact that we buy into these manufactured, consumerist ideas tells us exactly who we are as a society or as individuals.

His work in Thrift did feel like it was missing something. He mentioned that he is not one to point fingers, and his images did no such thing, but there is some kind of disconnect from the images. While they’re interesting to analyze, they haven’t quite been taken to the next level where a clear statement could be derived. Perhaps, because I know the images of people are staged, the images are thrown slightly and they seem less legitimate. That may be a shallow observation but I feel like when he had a great intention to obtain these “street” photographs of people in places he may not have supposed to be in makes the work seem that much more worth it. I suppose in Thrift it’s because of a lack of struggle.

Artist Website/Blog