David with Sheep and Grandpa, Pastoral Study, 2020. Image courtesy: R. J. Kern

OSU Museum of Art chooses ‘The Unchosen Ones’

Monday, April 3, 2023

Media Contact: Casey Ihde | OSU Museum of Art Marketing and Communications | 405-744-2783 | casey.pankey@okstate.edu

“The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral” showcases portraits of 4-H members and their animals — specifically those that didn’t take home a Grand Champion ribbon — in a new exhibition opening April 18 at the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art.

In 2016, photographer R.J. Kern traveled to as many county fairs in his adopted home state of Minnesota as he could, creating formal portraits of 4-H members and their animals. He intentionally focused on those children that didn’t win. Four years later, during the pandemic, Kern revisited these same young people on their home turf, literally. He went to their farms, photographing and interviewing them in their pastures and barns to capture the changes and lessons learned over a four-year span.

Left: Rylee and Nelly, Clay County Fair, Minnesota, 2016. Image courtesy: R. J. Kern. Right: Rylee and Nelly, Clay County, Minnesota, 2020. Image courtesy: R. J. Kern

Kern asked what they had carried forward from their previous experience. What were their thoughts, their advice, their dreams and goals for the future? How do they fit in future agricultural America?

“Not being chosen for something has a valuable upside,” Kern said. “As I explored these young people’s doubts, fears and frustrations, I was heartened to learn of their ability to overcome adversity and rise to a challenge, whether it was self-imposed or one that life threw at them.”

In “The Unchosen Ones,” the formal qualities of Kern’s lighting and setting capture his young subjects’ dignity and wisdom, revealing self-directed dedication in some, and in others, the pressures of traditions imposed upon them. The resulting images tap into the mindset of America’s agricultural youth. They depict a way of life fast disappearing in modern America, the small family farm.

“The Unchosen Ones” is on view April 18 – June 24 at the OSU Museum of Art in downtown Stillwater. For more, visit https://museum.okstate.edu/art/unchosen-ones.html.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: R. J. Kern is an American artist whose work explores ideas of home, ancestry and the sense of place. His photography documents the interaction of people, animals and cultural landscapes. His work has been exhibited in several notable exhibitions, including the Museum of Modern Art (Tbilisi, Georgia), the National Portrait Gallery (London), and the Yixian International Photography Festival (Anhui, China).

In addition to numerous awards and exhibitions, Kern's work has been featured by National Geographic, the BBC, PBS, PDN, and the Royal Photographic Society Journal.

For more about Kern and his work, visit https://www.rjkern.com.