Brian Ulrich

I have been feeling petty uninspired by design work lately (notice the lack of posts), so I have been compulsively looking at different photographers work. I love this retail themed series, by Brian Ulrich, a New York native. These photographs scream USA to me in a disturbing yet fascinating way. The are unapologetic and a little sad.

From Brian's statement: "In 2001 citizens were encouraged to take to the malls to boost the U.S. economy through shopping, thereby equating consumerism with patriotism. The Copia project, a direct response to that advice, is a long-term photographic examination of the peculiarities and complexities of the consumer-dominated culture in which we live. Through large scale photographs taken within both the big-box retail stores and the thrift shops that house our recycled goods, Copia explores not only the everyday activities of shopping, but the economic, cultural, social, and political implications of commercialism and the roles we play in self-destruction, over-consumption, and as targets of marketing and advertising. By scrutinizing these rituals and their environments, I hope that viewers will evaluate the increasing complexities of the modern world and their own role within it."••••