COLLECTOR’S EDITION: The Sheep and the Goats
Edition 49 of 50 currently available
This art book collaborative project been acquired by the following institutions: The Center for Creative Photography (Tuscon, AZ), the Plains Art Museum (Fargo, ND), Griffin Museum of Photography (Winchester, MA), Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, MN), Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX), Museum of Fine Arts (St Petersburg, FL), Nevada Museum of Art (Reno, NV), and Rourke Art Museum (Moorhead, MN).
The COLLECTOR’S EDITION of The Sheep and the Goats represents two bodies of work, The Bovidae: Divine Animals and Out to Pasture, in visual conversation. The work calls attention to the cultural landscapes surrounding domesticated animals. The Bovidae: Divine Animals looks at animals and environments in Kern’s ancestral heritage: Ireland, Germany, Norway, and Iceland. Out to Pasture responds as a meditation on rural America from his home state of Minnesota, USA. Together, these projects offer perspective on the meaning of pastoral in contemporary time. Among Kern’s influences are landscape painters of the nineteenth century, especially regarding the use of light and composition.
Includes an introduction by Lisa Volpe, PhD, Associate Curator of Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; essay by George Slade; interview by Stuart Klipper. Designed by Kehrer Design (Maximiliane Hüls). Hardcover. 9.1 x 11.8 inches (23.2 x 30 cm). 120 pages, 52 color illustrations. Retail price: US $50.
COLLECTOR'S EDITION features:
SIGNED Limited Edition, archival inkjet prints (8 x 10 inches) drawn from a selection of two images (1/25)
50 signed, numbered copies of book + 6 APs
Customized, wool felt book sleeve with “Skinnfell” wood-block stamping by textile artist Karen Aakre (oldest form of Norwegian art)
National Geographic magazine (November 2017) featuring three images featured in the book
Two fiber relics contained in archival sleeve: angora goat mohair and sheep wool featured in the book (the first animals the artist photographed for this project on American soil).
Retail price:$575.
Two relics inside
A custom wool felt sleeve will wrap the book created specifically for the book in collaboration with textile artist Karen Aakre. Raw materials sourced from a Minnesota goat and sheep featured in the book.
Custom pocket for National Geographic
Each COLLECTOR'S EDITION of "The Sheep and the Goats" will feature a custom sleeve with the November 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine. Three images which appear in the book are each featured as spreads in the magazine.
COLLECTOR'S CHOICE: A Sheep or a Goat?
Curly and Escapé, were among the bovidae, members of the goat and sheep animal family. And both played an important role in my development as an artist years ago. These two were among my earliest subjects and you can read more about them here. Knowing our roots today helps us understand where we came from. These shining examples of their breed make me smile each time I see them.
Each archival inkjet print is signed and numbered on verso, edition of 25, and sized at 8 x 10 inches with a choice of Escapé (pron. es cahp é) or Curly. Specify your preference below. Subject to availability.
Escapé (pron. es cahp é), Benton County, Minnesota, 2015.
Curly, Otter Trail County, Minnesota, 2015.
Introduction by Lisa Volpe:
In R. J. Kern’s portrait, the sitter seems to possess wisdom and selfassurance. Maybe it’s the sitter’s slight tilt of the head, a posture of confidence and certainty. Or it could be the determined glare that stares down the camera lens. Perhaps it is the silvered hair, shot through with patches of white. This sign of age suggests it is wisdom born of experience. Or it could be the calm confidence that is conveyed in his unperturbed stillness, though storm clouds swirl in the distance. This goat is poised and wise. Animals have always been a canvas onto which mankind projects emotions or ideas. Kern’s personal examination of his ancestry in Ireland, Germany, Norway, and Iceland resulted in an artistic project in which goats and sheep represent issues of identity and history.
(...)
Kern’s evocation of nature as a device to understand his own sense of self draws upon historical precedence: the use of animals as metaphor and the pastoral tradition. Yet the artist’s broad concept— his exploration of identity—is firmly grounded in a contemporary context. This tightly knit series of images, which together characterize the author, is common to our age of social media. Kern’s aesthetic, however, emphasizes clarity and projects a warm stillness that is a balm to an overstimulated society. This contrast too—the ties to digital media and the rejection of its characteristics—deepens this pastoral project. Yes, it is a photograph of a goat, but it is also more than that. Just as man’s relationship with the animal world is multifaceted, so too is Kern’s work.
– From the introduction by Lisa Volpe, Associate Curator of Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston