Brian Ulrich: Copia—Retail, Thrift, and Dark Stores, 2001–11

On view at the Cleveland Museum of Art from August 27, 2011 to February 26, 2012, Brian Ulrich features 50 color photographs from the artist's Copia series (2001–10), a three-part project that confronts viewers with an in-depth examination of consumerism in American culture. Initially using a hand-held camera with the view finder at waist level, Ulrich remained anonymous while documenting shoppers engrossed in navigating the abundance of goods found in vast enclosed malls and big-box stores. The second phase focuses on thrift stores, the collecting places for discarded and unwanted consumer products, yet a primary destination for a growing segment of the United States' population. The concluding group features haunting images of the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, highlighted by the exteriors and interiors of dark stores, ghost boxes, and dead malls.