CONSUMERISM AND PHOTOGRAPHY - Brian Ulrich

CONSUMERISM AND PHOTOGRAPHY:

Brian Ulrich

"Brought to a point where the measure of the quality of our lives is 

based on how much we spend and how much time we have for leisure"

Born in 1971, American photographer Brian Ulrich has become recognised for his scrutiny of America's consumer culture. Taken from the latin word for 'plenty', Copia is Ulrich's 10 year in-depth photographic exploration of post 9/11 America, taking a crucial look into the equation of consumerism with patriotism. The series is split into three projects -

'Retail', photographed from 2001 to 2006 during which he anonymously documented middle class shoppers captivated by the abundance of goods found in big box stores and enclosed malls. He shot these images with a hand held camera in a 'hip-fire' fashion, with the viewfinder at waist level presumably to capture a more realistic impression. The outcome would have perhaps been a little different had the shoppers been aware Ulrich was photographing.

'Thrift', photographed from 2005 to 2008 focusing on American thrift stores which become the home for our discarded and unwanted goods yet they have become a popular shopping destination for an increasing number of the American population. Ulrich is considering the affects of our obsessive need to consume and soon after discard the commodities that advertisement and marketing brainwash us into desiring.

'Dark Stores', photographed from 2008 to 2011 features eerie images presenting the impact of the 2008 financial crisis advertised by the interiors and exteriors of 'Dark Stores', 'ghostboxes and 'dead malls' which are retail industry terms for emptied, vacant and dying retail stores, big-boxes and malls.

Copia: 'Retail' - Chicago, IL 2003.

The image above, Chicago, IL 2003 from the Retail project of Copia. Ulrich's composition splits the image into two with a female figure at the point of the perspective, between the divide, stood with her back to her empty trolley staring into the wall of products. The wide aperture captures the woman, her trolley and the selection of wines and cheeses she seems to be pondering over whilst the excess of other products and price tags illuminated by the fluorescent industrial lighting travel far into the distance beyond the point of focus.

The candid portrait shows an individual captured by the domination of consumerism and presents us with a still moment of mundane familiarity that encourages us to question the obvious complacency of consumer culture. Consider how the subject appears to be pondering over the decision of what wine and cheese to purchase, meanwhile she flaunts her gold jewellery and designer sunglasses as she interacts with her mobile phone presumably seeking a second opinion. These items of luxury with little significance in the grand scheme of things are where her attention is focused. Whilst caught up in the moment, she stands with her back to her empty trolley, almost as if she is unaware of its presence, too engrossed in the abundance of items that she can pick from. The image becomes powerful in its impact referencing how we have become so distracted by expensive unsustainable commodities that we are brainwashed into believing we need to spend hard earned money only to fund the riches of major corporations and business without any return.

Perhaps this is a dull way to depict the image but when you consider the intentions of the photographer, the signifiers are too obvious to ignore. Ulrich is presenting images not to manipulate but to compel you to take a second look and identify the peculiarities in these mundane scenarios.

CAMERA AS A GUN - Patrick Zachmann

CAMERA AS A GUN:
Patrick Zachmann


"I became a photographer because I have no memory. Photography allows me to reconstruct the family albums I never had, the missing images becoming the engine of my research. My contact sheets are my personal diary."

Patrick Zachmann, born in 1955, is a french freelance photographer who became a full member of Magnum in 1990. Prior to his work for Magnum, Zachmann explored the challenges of integration facing young immigrants in the northern neighbourhoods of Marseille between 1982 and 1984. In 1987, he published his second book following seven years of work on a personal project regarding Jewish Identity. In 1989, Zachmann was awarded the Prix Nieple for his entire body of work on the events at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. 

During February 1990 Nelson Mandela was being released at the jubilation in Cape Town, South Africa. Zachmann was photographing at the jubilation, which was during the apartheid era of policing in South Africa. When things became a little heated, they nervously reacted consequently shooting Zachmann twice. At the precise moment he was struck by the rubber bullets he photographed his last image at the event capturing the relationship between shooting and being shot. 

Zachmann was photographing a big cultural event for the international cooperative Magnum photos. Considering the nature of the event, the client and overall purpose would suggest that the photos were of the photojournalism and documentary genre. There are certain aesthetics that would also evidence this such as the traditional monochrome, 35mm approach also adopted by the likes of William Klein, Daido Moriyama and Robert Frank. The 'snapshot' aesthetic also implies the idea of documenting in a similar way to family holiday photos that act as a physical record of what was in front of the photographer. 

'The last shot', 1990

   

In the images original context, I find that his choice to photograph in black and white represents cultural and political issues surrounding the event - the idea of monochrome representing the racial segregation that anti-apartheid Nelson Mandela was fighting against. The motion blur caused by the movement of Zachmann during the shooting suggests a lot about the chaos that ensued. White figures in the foreground are illuminated by a strip of high key lighting leaving many figures in the background in low key shadow and darkness which implies a lot about the dominance of the apartheid police as they appear confrontational. 

More recently, 'The last shot' has been taken into a more philosophical context. It is part of the 2013 Shoot! - Existential Photography exhibition in which it has been used to explore the idea that 'to be photographed is to be killed'. It is considered by Philosopher Roland Barthes that metaphorically every photo is a death - 'the photograph mechanically repeats what could never be repeated existentially'. The exhibition is considering the relationship between the camera and a gun with regards to the theories of Barthes. Zachmann's image is a much more literal and personal analogy, he is literally shooting the image at the precise moment of being shot meaning we view the image from the viewpoint of the target.