Ulrich, Brian

American, b.1971 Northport, NY

BiographyBrian Ulrich documents the everyday activities of consumption and explores the roles we play as targets of marketing and advertising. Ulrich's pictures document people in a cathartic state of consumption, usually oblivious to the photographer. In Indianapolis, IN a man with headphones tunes out the world as he sprawls in one of a row of boxy leather chairs. In Chicago, IL a woman clutches a wedding dress amongst dozens of choices. It is the goal of marketers to invent particular lifestyles that individuals tend to incorporate into their view of their ultimate happiness.
Brian Ulrich was born in 1971 in Northport, New York. He received a BFA in photography from University of Akron (1996) and an MFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago (2004). He has taught photography at Columbia College Chicago; Gallery 37, Chicago; the University of Akron, Ohio; and Rhode Island School of Design. His photographs have appeared in The New Yorker, Wired, Adbusters, and New York Times Magazine. The Museum of Contemporary Photography included his work in the 2005 exhibition Manufactured Self. Solo exhibitions include 12 x 12 at Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2005), Copia at Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago (2004), and Produce, Protect, Project at Millworks Gallery, Akron, Ohio (1999).