The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral featuring archival quality photographic prints by R. J. Kern will open on November 22nd.

The exhibit encompasses a series of portraits, taken in 2016, of young people posing with the animals they had raised, cared for, and groomed for entry into a best animal competition, with dreams of the glory of moving on to State Fair victory. No victory is shown here, however. These animals and their young owners were not deemed champions; they came in second or third or not at all. Here, on the sidelines of the main events, these disappointed children and their beloved animals illustrate a small backstory, preserving a moment of failure, loss, love, and hope, as only photography can.

Four years later, R. J. Kern re-photographed many of the subjects of the original series. In some cases, the animal and its handler are photographed together again. In other cases, the child has moved on and replaced the animal with some new pursuit; a tractor, a chicken, a fishing pole. Once a series about the love, pride, joy, and disappointment that comes with being passed over, The Unchosen Ones is now a record of the original sitters choosing how they will live the next part of their lives.

The Unchosen Ones depicts the bloom of youth and the mettle of the young people who grow up on farms, reminding us how resilient children can be when confronted with life’s inevitable disappointments. The formal quality of the lighting and setting endow these young people with a gravitas beyond their years, revealing self-directed dedication in some, and in others, perhaps, the pressures of traditions imposed upon them. The portraits capture a particular America, a rural pastoral world, and a time in life when the layered emotions of youth are laid bare.

R. J. Kern is an American artist whose work investigates ideas of home, ancestry, and a sense of place. His portraits 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.

Join us from November 22, 2024, to January 10, 2025, to see these stunning photographs and learn more about the participants in this exhibition. Admission is free.

The exhibit will be open Monday through Friday 9 to 4:30 and on Saturdays from 9-2pm.

We strive to keep all listed events up to date, but event details may change. Please verify event information with the event organizers or official sources before attending.