The Unchosen Ones: Portraits of an American Pastoral

A book by Minneapolis-based photographer R. J. Kern, The Unchosen Ones (MW Editions, 2021) features portraits of future farmers in America’s heartland. Kern’s subjects are Minnesota 4-H members, each of whom spent a year raising an animal then entered it into a 4-H competition. He first photographed them in 2016, and none of the children who sat for him succeeded in winning first prize, despite the obvious care they had given to their animals. The formal qualities of Kern’s 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. Four years later, in 2020, Kern returned to photograph and interview his young subjects. As he took the second group of photographs, Kern inquired about what his young subjects had carried forward from their previous experience. What were their thoughts, their advice, their dreams and their goals for the future? How do they fit in future agricultural America? The new images are poignant when juxtaposed with the originals, tapping into the mindset of America’s agricultural youth. These beautiful portraits capture a certain America, a rural world, and a time in life when the layered emotions of youth are laid bare. Book Specifications: ISBN: 9781735762937, 9 1/4 x 11 3/4", 136 pages, 111 color photographs