Toys R Us, 2009 from the series Dark Stores from the larger body Copia
Untitled, 2005, (0503) from the series Thrift from the larger body Copia
Dixie Square Mall, 2008 from the series Thrift from the larger body Copia
To be completely honest, I was not looking forward to this lecture today. I didn't completely understand Brian's work and I didn't feel as though I could relate to it. The same feelings linger, to an extent, but I feel like I appreciate the work far more than I did before. It also helped that he was an entertaining person to listen to.
One thing that I really appreciated about his process was that he allows himself to work slowly. This is something I've noticed a lot about artists lately, or at least the artists that I read about. It takes them a long time to actually produce work -- not because of a lack of effort, but because it just takes awhile. I really think that's nice. For awhile I didn't understand how anyone could stick with a project for more than like, a month or two, but after seeing artists continue a series over a span of time, it really gives me hope for myself that working with the same subject isn't weird, but actually quite normal.
Something that I had a hard time relating to though, was the undeniable political undercurrents of his work. I just haven't been able to get into politics and I'm not sure why. I know that it impacts my life but I guess since I haven't really felt the hot breath of government on my neck I haven't quite been motivated to pay attention. That said, I realize that his work is important and that it has a really important message to send out to people, and I think what he brings up is something people really don't think about. What does happen to all those things we give away? What does happen when our "patriotic duty" to max out our credit cards fails (re: Dead Malls, Dark Stores, etc)?
I don't know that I have anywhere to go with this specifically, but I was glad he mentioned the contrast between this war and wars that have been waged in the past. It was fascinating how he grew up with these terribly epic war stories that just seem like something out of a movie and how our war stories are hidden and are so detached and the patriotism is in this weird state that isn't palpable at all as I'm sure it was during the World Wars.
I'd like to end this post with a quote that I thought was funny: "I know it's creepy, but it's art." Thanks Brian Ulrich!
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