Michael Weinstein

The profound disconnect between artist and collector became a gaping chasm at Brian Ulrich's gallery walk with members of the Art Institute's donor group--the Photography Society--to "sneak preview" his new "Thrift" series of color shots documenting the disarray of items available at thrift shops.

For Ulrich, his images represent a coming-to-terms with his own implication in consumer society, which leads him to self-criticism and disquiet--he does not hate himself for the consumer that he is and, in consequence, loves the people and places he shoots; yet he knows and deplores the waste, excess, destruction and exploitation that are concomitant with consumerism.

Ulrich makes his ambivalence plain in his comments to the group, but when it comes time for questions his audience avoids all the concerns that motivate him. "How do you control for depth of field? Do you use film or have you gone digital?" asks one older man. "It looks like a wall in grandpa's basement--every grandpa has one," a younger man says about an image filled with an indiscernible jumble of things. "Did you buy anything at the stores where you took the photographs?" asks a middle-aged woman.

Gallerist Rhona Hoffman, who represents Ulrich, understands him, saying that she has taken him on because he shares her concerns about the shopping mania that has "substituted for religion." Hoffman responds to the images with "sadness" and reflects on the "disparity of incomes" that produces excess for some social classes and scrounging for "detritus" for others. Ulrich is a young rising star in the photo world, having exhibited at the Art Institute and done a spread for the New York Times Magazine, among many other successes in the two years since he received his M.F.A. from Columbia College. He is not scamming anyone and is deeply serious about his intent to make people question themselves and their lives. That his audience did not get it testifies to the depth of the "problem" that Ulrich so directly and pointedly exposes.

Brian Ulrich shows at Rhona Hoffman Gallery, 118 North Peoria, (312)455-1990, through January 6. See Eye Exam for more on this show.

(2006-12-05)

Also by Michael Weinstein

Tip of the Week
In the most important photography exhibit of 2006, we get to see the images of twenty cutting-edge photographers practicing in Iran today
(2006-11-28)

Tip of the Week
The Beatle who saddled rock with pop, Paul McCartney sprouted Wings in his later career and then took off on his own. Bill Bernstein flew with him on his 2002-2003 world tour, armed with an adoring camera that recorded every triumphal and madcap moment in vivid color and dreamy black and white
(2006-11-20)

Tip of the Week
Performance photographer Jeremy Hobbs strapped a video camera to his head for an entire day, abstracted three-second color stills, miniaturized them, collaged them into sixteen 100x100 photo-works cataloguing each of his waking hours in vertical sequential strands, and shot the constructions to produce images that look like involved dripping tapestries
(2006-11-14)

Tip of the Week
Known for her clean color images of spare, vast and depopulated interior institutional spaces, German photographer Candida Hofer surprises in her first Chicago gallery show with intimate studies of ornate rooms in European palaces, libraries and museums
(2006-10-31)

Tip of the Week
(2006-10-03)

Tip of the Week
(2006-09-26)

Tip of the Week
(2006-08-29)

Tip of the Week
(2006-08-22)

Tip of the Week
(2006-08-15)

Tip of the Week
(2006-08-08)

Tip of the Week
(2006-08-01)

Tip of the Week
(2006-07-25)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment