Accolades

American Photography 41 {selected}

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My photograph, Live Action Role Players, Blue Earth County Fair, Minnesota (from the series The Last Fair), was chosen from over 7,000 entries to appear among 370 featured works in the AP41 annual award book. Explore the curated selection in the official online slideshow »

Project Statement: The Last Fair blends large-format photography with collaborative storytelling, crafting staged tableaux that draw inspiration from Pieter Bruegel’s nuanced humanism and Grandma Moses’ vibrant, folk-art energy. This work celebrates community narratives through a lens of timeless Americana.

Gratitude: Special thanks to this year’s distinguished jurors, including Skye Battles (WIRED), María Dubón (Harper’s), Maria G. Keehan (Smithsonian Magazine), Kyra Kennedy (Outside), Dana Kien (WSJ Magazine), Patrik Nyman (NY-Studio), Pia Peterson (Lonely Planet), Stacey Pittman (The New Yorker), Krista Prestek (Apple), and Shannon Simon (The New York Times Magazine).

Culture & Agriculture Exhibition (3rd Place)

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Since 1985, the Culture & Agriculture Exhibition has hosted a juried exhibition of work drawing inspiration rural landscapes, farm life, and work that address issues related to agriculture. Juror James Machtan selected two photographs from my series The Last Fair were accepted: Live Action Role Players, Blue Earth County Fair, Minnesota, 2022 and Santa on Vacation, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2022 for exhibition at Gallery Q Artists Cooperative, Stevens Point, WI running March 1- April 22, 2025.

I received 3rd Place for Santa on Vacation, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2022.

Click here to view the exhibition details >> 

Santa on Vacation, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2022 in Culture & Agriculture Exhibition, Juror: James Machtan, Gallery Q Artists Cooperative, Stevens Point, WI.

Live Action Role Players, Blue Earth County Fair, Minnesota, 2022

Dear Dave, Fellowship (finalist)

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The DEAR DAVE, Fellowship 2024 was juried by an esteemed group from the international photography community including Alessia Glaviano, David Campany, Elena Navarro, Marie Gomis-Trezise, Matthew Leifheit, Ra Mell Ross, Rebecca Morse, Narda Van ’T Veer, and Stephen Frailey.

My 20-photograph portfolio from the project The Last Fair was considered by the jury to be “of the strongest quality.” I’m honored to share work on this international platform aside photographers from all over the world.

View the Fellowship 2024 archive here >>

Rock County Fair 4-H Rabbit Show, Luverne, Minnesota, 2024, from the series The Last Fair by R. J. Kern

2024 Next Step Fund Grant {recipient}

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With support of the McKnight Foundation and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, I’m pleased to announce I am FY24 Next Step Fund grant recipient. The Next Step Fund provides project grants up to $5,000 to artists in any arts discipline. My application was one of 36 selected from pool of 370 artists. With the funding, I will acquire digital printing supplies and photography framing equipment to bring in-house production, plus digital projector and speaker to support traveling storytelling shows.

R. J. Kern is a FY2024 recipient of the Next Step Fund grant, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.

2024 MSAB Creative Support for Individuals Grant {Awarded}

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Minnesota is the best state to live in as an artist!

Yesterday, I learned that the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) awarded me a FY2024 Creative Support for Individuals Grant for $10,000. I am especially grateful for the support.

I look forward to engaging with county fairs across greater Minnesota through agricultural photography exhibitions, storytelling experiences, and tintype demonstrations. Each time I photograph at county fairs, my project continues to grow and evolve, largely because of the interactions I have with the subjects of my photos and participants that attend my workshops and exhibitions.

This grant will allow me to grow as an artist and teacher of art in two ways:

First, the grant will increase awareness and visibility of my work, but will also shine a light on the life and work of people in the Minnesota. I look forward to deepening my on-going relationships with the greater Minnesota communities I’ve been working with since 2015. Meeting new people in these communities allows for genuine exchanges between me and my subjects as we collaborate together to create photographs reflecting their lived reality.

Secondly, by sharing my enthusiasm for agricultural photography, I will engage and hopefully inspire the next generation of photographers. Photography is one of the most popular activities in 4-H county fairs as measured by exhibitor participation. Many 4-H leaders encourage me to share tips and my journey in becoming an artist.

While the number of retirement-age farmers increases in Minnesota, census data show the number of new farmers is declining. This concerns me, raising issues associated with food source / agricultural production issues. I wish to elevate this mindset, showcasing efforts in the best possible light, and offer an opportunity for reflection, respect and deeper understanding of an endangered way of life.

It's the People 2023-24 Photographer

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I’m excited to be a part of Hennepin Theatre Trust's It’s The People 2023. This public art project, made in collaboration with Clear Channel, highlights members of the community in the theme of “Network of Mutuality.” This year’s project will also launch alongside the first Minnesota Triennial. The portraits will be displayed on billboards and large-scale banners across Minneapolis this summer, and the Minnesota Triennial will be hosted by Public Art St. Paul June 24 – September 16.

In collaboration with Sachidanandhan Venkatakrishnan, President of the Tamil Association of Minnesota (Minnesota Tamil Sangam, or MNTS, a non-profit organization), I will create one large-scale tableaux photograph depicting MN artists performing Tamil dances and traditional music instruments rooted in southern India and Sri Lanka.

As a portrait photographer since 2006, I am interested in sharing stories of the Minnesota community, especially those underserved in the arts. Lighting, styling and a formal approach elevate my subject out of the ordinary, telling a visual story of strength, character, and confidence.

I was intrigued with the theme, “Network of Mutuality” phrase drawn from the 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. quote: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

R. J. Kern selected as a portrait photographer for the “It’s the People” commission by Hennepin Theater Trust.

Top 10 of 2022 | Analog Forever

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Michael Kirchoff, Editor in Chief of Analog Forever Magazine, selected one of my tintypes for his Top 10 analog photographs from 2022. This on-going series of personal photographic works uses ninetieth-century technology to focus on intimate, interdependent relationships of people, animals, and landscape as a means of exploring how ancestry shapes identity and how myth intertwines with personal history. I created the 8 x 10 inch tintype on July 16, 2022 using a Kodak 2d view camera.

View the Top 10 list >>

The Tauer Family, Redwood County Fair, Minnesota, July 16, 2022 by R. J. Kern, unique tintype, 8 x 10 inches, 2022

19th-century farm portrait awarded IPA 1st Place

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Work created from The Unchosen Ones project in 2020 was awarded 1st place in the Portrait / Lifestyle category by the International Photography Awards, affiliated with the Lucie Foundation, a charitable foundation whose mission is to honor photographers, discover, and cultivate emerging talent and promote the appreciation of photography.

Hannah and her family live on a Century Farm, a farm with continuous ownership by a family for 100 years or more. Nearly 11,000 Minnesota farms have been recognized as Century Farms since 1976, a way to promote agriculture and honor historic family farms in the state.

Hannah, Pastoral Study, 2020, archival pigment print

Hannah, Pastoral Study, 2020, archival pigment print

Critical Mass 2021 Top 50

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I’m honored my work from my project The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral has been chosen for Critical Mass 2021 Top 50. I appreciate the support of Photolucida and the jurors for this opportunity to share my work. When I began this project in 2015, I never had sights on the critical-acclaim that would follow. I couldn’t have done this alone and appreciate the support from mentors, my gallerists at Burnet Fine Art & Advisory and Olson Larsen Galleries, and the trusting participants from #TheUnchosenOnes project. I want to give a special thank you to Sarah Leen for believing in this project from the beginning, Alison Nordström for writing for the book, Paula Tognarelli for offering my first museum solo at Photolucida, and MW Editions for making the trade book possible (early copies arrive soon!). Ewa Zebrowski thank you for being a lovely writing buddy and Hans Weise for collaboration with the upcoming video documentary.

David, Pastoral Study, 2020

David, Pastoral Study, 2020

110th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition

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I’m honored to have my work awarded an Honorable Mention by Carla Rodriguez, juror of the 110th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition in St. Paul, MN. The show runs through Sept 6. I hope to make it to the fair this weekend to see all the art in the show, the largest juried art exhibition in the state. Scroll to the end to see the winning photograph.

I want to share with you the back story not only of the exhibited photograph, but the project as a whole, and the specific sheep featured in the photograph, Tantor. The story features a poetic ending. First, the backstory.

Josilin and Tantor, 4-H Lamb Lead Show, Minnesota State Fair, 2015.

Josilin and Tantor, 4-H Lamb Lead Show, Minnesota State Fair, 2015.

The Unchosen Ones began with a visit to a quintessentially American event, the state fair. I was in Minnesota, where I live, which still has a strong community of small family farms. My longstanding interest in animals and their connection to humans drew me to the 2015 Minnesota State Fair. For my previous project, Divine Animals: The Bovidae, I photographed goats and sheep in lush landscapes throughout Western Europe. I knew I wanted to continue photographing domesticated animals, but my ideas about a new series were still inchoate. As I was canvassing the fair looking for inspiration, I took in all the carefully tended-to animals and their owners, often young children. After the 4-H Lamb Lead show, I met the fourth-place finishers, Josilin, and her sheep, Tantor. I could see Josilin was disappointed, yet she held her head high. Her determination inspired me, and I made a portrait of them. Photographing the pair spurred me to think about my own childhood and its run-of-the- mill disappointments. I had a supportive family and a fulfilling childhood, yet I still vividly remember being picked last for the basketball team and not earning a ribbon at the local science fair, even though I had tried my best. As I grew older, I knew well the feeling of not being chosen—for a job, or for love. But not being chosen for something can have a valuable upside: it can create empathy. Empathy connects people and forges bonds. Later that year, I included the portrait in a Minnesota State Arts Board grant application, and that act would shape my artistic journey.

I began to look for a certain typology: exemplary youth and animals from a small but geographically diverse area in Minnesota. I chose goats and sheep because they were competition animals that also fit within the constraints of the six-foot-wide backdrop I was using. The formality of the backdrop elevated the subjects and also allowed a story to emerge between the animal and the child. My strobe lights failed to flash during my initial session, so I used the diffuse, ambient light of the overcast skies. This serendipitous accident produced a soft tonality I loved: the light fell onto my dignified subject, rendering shadows as though from a painter’s brush. I was drawn to this aesthetic.

Josilin and Escapé, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 (left) and Josilin and Tantor, Benton County, Minnesota, 2021 (right).

Josilin and Escapé, Benton County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 (left) and Josilin and Tantor, Benton County, Minnesota, 2021 (right).

In 2016, I made 65 portraits of youth contestants at Minnesota county fairs. Each participant—some as young as four years old— spent a year raising an animal, which they entered into a 4-H livestock competition. None of the youth I photographed succeeded in winning an award, despite the obvious care they have given to their animal.

Four years later, in 2020, I returned to photograph the young subjects, asking them what they carried forward from their previous experience. Some of them have continued to pursue animal husbandry while others developed other interests. We imagine some of these kids will choose to continue running their family farms, an unpredictable and demanding way to make a living.

As I created the second group of photographs, I asked them what were their thoughts, their dreams, and their goals for the future? How do they fit in the future of agricultural America?

Place matters to me, especially since these portraits were not taken in a studio. Using a wide-angle lens, I stepped back to view the pastoral environment, with farm machinery and architecture and the occasional barn kitty or chicken cameo.

In January 2021, while completing the book project (forthcoming MW Editions, November 2021), I felt the urge to photograph. I called up Josilin and checked in on how Tantor was doing. She was aging with grace, I learned. I also was told female sheep with “masculine” names, like Tantor, perform better in livestock competitions.

Honorable Mention, 110th Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, Juror Carla Rodriguez:

Josilin, Pastoral Study, 2021, by R. J. Kern, from the upcoming monograph, The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral (MW Editions, 2021). Archival pigment print mounted on dibond, 37 x 50 inches, Edition 1 of 3 + AP, 2021, $3600 framed.

Josilin, Pastoral Study, 2021, by R. J. Kern, from the upcoming monograph, The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral (MW Editions, 2021). Archival pigment print mounted on dibond, 37 x 50 inches, Edition 1 of 3 + AP, 2021, $3600 framed.

Although there is abundant evidence that this way of life is disappearing as kids leave the farm, the crisis of climate change and a concern for both sustainability and stewardship of the land point to a path for survival for these agricultural practices and traditions. I hope county fairs will still be around in a hundred years.

Tantor passed away two weeks after our portrait session.

Tantor, Benton County, Minnesota, 2021 (unpublished)

Tantor, Benton County, Minnesota, 2021 (unpublished)

Life Framer, Editors’ Pick

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A diptych of portraits created on the fairgrounds in Anoka County (Minnesota), were featured as a Editor’s Pick by Life Framer in their most recent online them, Youthhood. View editor’s list here >>

My work straddles multiple genres, not specific to portraiture or landscape, and I love the freedom it gives me as a photographic artist. When it comes to entering contests, I don’t want to be put into a box. I like the Life Framer themes are focused on storytelling with themes open to boundary pushing, not compartmentalization.

While not selected for the big prize, my work was chosen as an “Editors’ Pick” with thoughtful comments, published on their website. Editor’s comment:

Some of us – for many reasons – have to grow up faster than others, and few more so than those working on family farms. Farmland is a wonderful place to explore as a child, but it is also full or responsibility and care, where you can at times witness birth, life and death in quicker succession than normally experienced in an urban setting. There is so much joy and pride in this image, underpinned by a strong selection of tones and shades. I truly feel the confidence of the subject, enjoying their childhood and the duties that accompany it, seemingly unaffected by the past years obstacles.

What makes this pairing unique in the project is it is the only location that remained the same in both 2016 portrait and 2020 portraits. Special permission and access was required to create the 2020 portrait.

Kol and Annabell, Anoka County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 (left) paired with Kol and Annabell, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2020 (right).

Kol and Annabell, Anoka County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 (left) paired with Kol and Annabell, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2020 (right).

Communication Arts Photography Annual 62 {Award of Excellence}

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Years ago in high school photo class, paging through Communication Arts Photography Annual served up a wonderful dose of inspiration, offering creative ideas for my next project. I’m honored that my 2020 project is published in the July / August 2021 issue. Communication Arts magazine, a professional journal for those involved in creativity in visual communications, publishes results in a stunning magazine. Of the 2,328 entries submitted to the 62nd annual photography competition, my entry was one of 109 selected by a jury of respected creative professionals.

My son was as curious about the metal trophies as seeing my work in print.

Kenzi and Hootie, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2020 published in Communication Arts Photography Annual 62.

Kenzi and Hootie, Anoka County, Minnesota, 2020 published in Communication Arts Photography Annual 62.

The Independant Photographer {Portrait Award}

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I’m pleased to share the photograph, Blake and P. T., Hubbard County, Minnesota, 2020, was selected as one of the 15 Editor’s Picks for The Independent Photographer Portrait Award. The photograph will be featured in my forthcoming monograph, The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral (MW Editions, 2021).

View the gallery >>

“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” — Edward Steichen.

Blake and P. T., Hubbard County, Minnesota, 2020, archival pigment print

Blake and P. T., Hubbard County, Minnesota, 2020, archival pigment print

Awarded: 2020 Artist Initiative Grant

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I was awarded my third Minnesota State Arts Board grant (2016, 2018, 2020). With the support of a 2020 Artist Initiative Grant, I look forward to creating new work for my project, The Unchosen Ones, documenting adolescent subjects four years later and plan to continue my visual storytelling with the introduction of audio and video documentation (VR tools, perhaps). I am curious to document how values and attitudes have been retained and maintained in the lives of these 70+  adolescents. In addition, a traveling exhibition of the subjects photographed four years prior will introduce the project to Minnesota county fair audiences.

Riley Poppel summed it up well at the Clay County Fair in 2016 when asked what life skills she had learned and how those skills shaped her life:

I’ve learned the importance of never giving up, always helping others learn, and the importance of teamwork when working with my animals. It has taught me about the goodness of hard work and how to care for others through love.

Marcus and Sheep, Mahnomen County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 from the series The Unchosen Ones.

Marcus and Sheep, Mahnomen County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 from the series The Unchosen Ones.

The Unchosen Ones — A Community Exhibition of Photography, Mahnomen County Fair, 2018

The Unchosen Ones — A Community Exhibition of Photography, Mahnomen County Fair, 2018

Critical Mass 2019 Top 200

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I’m honored to be among Photolucida’s Critical Mass 2019 Top 200. The group of fine-art photographers juried in this group celebrates the pursuit of creative photographic excellence while engaging new audiences.

Supreme Champion Chicken Male / Female Pairing, 2018 Minnesota State Fair from the series The Best of the Best. Salt print over archival pigment print, 20 x 24 inch sheet size, Ed of 5 + 2 AP.

Supreme Champion Chicken Male / Female Pairing, 2018 Minnesota State Fair from the series The Best of the Best. Salt print over archival pigment print, 20 x 24 inch sheet size, Ed of 5 + 2 AP.

6th International Open Call, juried by Aline Smithson

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The Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts announced the awards for the 6th International Open Call, juried by Aline Smithson (founder of LENSCRATCH). I am excited and honored to share Kol and Annabell, Anoka County Fair, Minnesota, 2016 from my series, The Unchosen Ones, received second place!

Looking through the names of the 74 photographers selected, I’m proud to be listed with these friends and colleagues. I’ve enjoyed getting to know these artists and their personal projects (and some even swapping prints, including 1st place winner Eric Kunsman for his print, 4th of July, 2014 – Palmyra, NY). The exhibition is on view through Friday, March 15th, 2019 and is free to the public.

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Little known fact: I first visited RISD in Providence in 1994 and considered enrolling in their BFA program, as my high school teacher Ricker Winsor graduated there and worked with Harry Callahan). I decided to pursue a liberal arts degree at Colgate University, however, I am excited to exhibit work in the same small town that inspired many great photographers).

Critical Mass 2018 Top 50!

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Thumbs up! I honored and humbled to be chosen for Critical Mass 2018 Top 50! I appreciate the support of Photolucida and the jurors for this oportunity to share my work. When I began this project, I never had sights on the critical-acclaim that would follow. I couldn’t have done this alone and appreciate the support mentors, my gallerists, and the trusting participants from “The Unchosen Ones” project, many who I reconnected with this summer, including Gabe at the MN State Fair two weeks ago.

>> See Critical Mass 2018 Top 50 winners here.

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