Richard Kern: Transgressive Art and the Raw Intimacy of Polaroids

Richard Kern stands as one of the most thought-provoking and uncompromising image-makers of his generation, with a career spanning over four decades. Emerging from New York City’s No Wave scene in the 1980s, Kern has evolved from underground filmmaker to renowned photographer, consistently pushing boundaries in his exploration of human sexuality, power dynamics, and social commentary.

His recent Polaroid collection represents a significant archival release, showcasing more than 200 instant photographs taken between 1980 and 2005 that capture the raw, unfiltered aesthetic that has defined his controversial yet influential body of work. Through his dry, matter-of-fact approach, Kern continues to challenge preconceptions about objectivity in photography while illuminating the complex psychological space between subject, photographer, and viewer.

The Man Behind the Lens

Richard Kern was born in 1954 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, where his early exposure to photography came through his father, who worked as a newspaper photographer and editor. This foundation would eventually guide him toward his own visual career, though his path would take him far from his Southern roots to the gritty underground scenes of New York City. Now in his early seventies, Kern has established himself as a significant figure in American underground culture, though his personal demeanour often contradicts expectations based on his provocative work.

Despite his reputation for creating transgressive and sexually explicit content, those who meet Kern are often surprised by his grounded, unassuming personality. In one interview, he was described as “simple and sweet and grounded” rather than the “prideful, boisterous and/or outwardly quirky” character one might expect based on his boundary-pushing art. This contradiction between the provocateur on paper and the man in person represents just one of many dualities in Kern’s career and artistic approach. His personal life has included a marriage to Martynka Wawrzyniak from 2007 to 2015, though he tends to keep his private affairs separate from his professional identity.

Perhaps most revealing about Kern’s character is his persistent drive for artistic growth and exploration. Despite his significant body of work and established reputation, he remains “unsatisfied with his accomplishments, being that he knows there is always more that he can conquer”. This restlessness has fueled his continuous evolution across different mediums and subject matter throughout his career. The seemingly quiet, unassuming photographer contains the same creative tension that has produced some of contemporary photography’s most challenging and thought-provoking images.

Artistic Evolution: From Underground Films to Photography

Kern’s artistic career began in the late 1970s with self-produced magazines that captured the bleakness of New York City’s East Village. His hand-stapled, photocopied zines included “The Heroin Addict,” which he later renamed “The Valium Addict,” producing approximately twelve issues between 1979 and 1983. These early works established his interest in the aesthetics of extremity and set the stage for his emergence in experimental film-making. His zines featured a combination of art, poetry, photography, and fiction by himself and several friends, forming an important foundation for his later visual work.

In the 1980s, Kern became a key figure in the East Village cultural explosion as part of the “Cinema of Transgression” movement, a term coined by fellow filmmaker Nick Zedd. His erotic and experimental films like “The Right Side of My Brain” and “Fingered” featured personalities of the time such as Lydia Lunch, David Wojnarowicz, Sonic Youth, and Henry Rollins. These films explored themes of extreme sex, violence, and perversion, establishing Kern as a provocative voice in underground cinema. His filmmaking crossed into music video production when he directed Sonic Youth’s “Death Valley ’69” video in 1985 (just on this paragraph!), which led to further music video work with artists like King Missile (“Detachable Penis”) and Marilyn Manson (“Lunchbox”).

The 1990s marked a significant shift in Kern’s creative output as he turned almost exclusively to still photography. This transition allowed him to develop the distinctive photographic style for which he’s now primarily known. In 1995, he released his first book, “New York Girls,” documenting the city’s underground scene in what has been described as “a claustrophobic, theatrical testament to the sexy and nihilistic demi-monde of the era”1. The book established his photographic voice and approach to subjects that would continue throughout his career. By 2022, Kern had come full circle, collaborating with No Agency New York to update his “New York Girls” work with a new generation of subjects.

Throughout his career evolution, Kern maintained a consistent interest in examining the human condition, particularly its darker aspects. His shift from experimental filmmaker to photographer represented not so much a change in vision as a refinement of his medium, allowing him to explore psychological spaces and power dynamics with greater precision. His body of work across different media forms a cohesive artistic statement about sexuality, human nature, and the complexities of representation.

The Polaroid Collection: Raw Immediacy

In 2023, Art Paper Editions published “Richard Kern Polaroids,” a significant archive containing more than 200 Polaroid photographs taken by Kern between 1980 and 2005 during various projects. This collection provides unique insight into Kern’s creative process and the development of his aesthetic over those twenty-five years. The 176-page softcover book, measuring 22 × 30 cm, was published in a limited first edition of 1000 copies, with a second printing scheduled for May 2025. Designed and edited by Jurgen Maelfeyt, the book has quickly become a sought-after item among collectors and photography enthusiasts.

The Polaroid format holds special significance within Kern’s body of work, representing an unfiltered, immediate approach to image-making that aligns with his artistic sensibilities. These instant photographs, described as “lo-fi” and “unearthing the sensual and the uncanny,” reveal a raw authenticity that digital photography often fails to capture8. The inherent limitations and unpredictability of Polaroid film create a unique aesthetic that complements Kern’s interest in challenging notions of photographic truth and objectivity. Each Polaroid serves as both a finished work and a document of the creative process—test shots, experimental compositions, and spontaneous captures that wouldn’t otherwise be preserved. In this article, you can see some unreleased works from the 80’s and 90’s

The collection spans multiple eras of Kern’s career, from his early days in experimental filmmaking through his transition to photography and beyond. This chronological breadth provides valuable context for understanding his artistic development and the consistency of his vision across different periods. Many of these Polaroids were taken during the production of other projects, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse at works that would later become famous in Kern’s portfolio. The instant nature of Polaroid photography creates a directness between photographer and subject that mirrors Kern’s broader interest in the psychological space between artist, subject, and audience.

Themes and Artistic Approach

For more than three decades, Richard Kern has sought to “unravel and illuminate the complex and often darker sides of human nature”. His work consistently explores themes of sexuality, power, vulnerability, and social taboos with a distinctive directness that refuses to flinch from uncomfortable subject matter. More often than not, Kern’s subjects are young women, prompting ongoing discussions about “the blurred lines between exploitation, empowerment, and social commentary”. His series “Medicated,” for example, looked behind “the white picket fences of America’s suburban drug addiction,” revealing hidden realities beneath sanitized suburban facades1.

Kern’s photographic approach is characterised by what many describe as a “dry, matter-of-fact” style that “underlines the absurdity of truth and objectivity in photography”. This straightforward visual language creates a fascinating tension with his often provocative subject matter. By presenting transgressive content with documentary-like directness, Kern challenges viewers’ expectations and forces confrontation with societal discomfort around sexuality and power. His work makes “the psychological space between the sitter, photographer and audience his subject,” transforming the act of looking into part of the artwork itself.

This self-awareness about the voyeuristic nature of photography adds conceptual depth to images that might otherwise be dismissed as merely provocative.

The title of Kern’s recent exhibition, “American Fantasy,” speaks directly to the thematic concerns throughout his work—“a candy-coated delusion: a powerful, idealized narrative ripe with dreams, promises, and desires, yet rotten with complexities and contradictions”. This tension between fantasy and reality, between surface appearance and underlying truth, runs throughout his photography. Kern’s work can be viewed through the lens of cultural critique, particularly regarding American society’s simultaneous obsession with and repression of sexuality. The transgressive quality of his images serves not merely to shock but to expose contradictions in social norms and expectations, particularly those surrounding female sexuality and representation.

Kern remains fundamentally a portraitist, even when pushing boundaries of sexual representation. His primary interest lies in revealing something authentic about his subjects, creating images that penetrate beyond surface appearances. His photography plays with “our reliance upon taxonomies around sexual representation,” questioning how we categorise and interpret images of the human body. This interrogation of photographic truthfulness resonates particularly strongly in his Polaroid work, where the medium itself carries connotations of authenticity and immediacy while simultaneously allowing for manipulation and staging.

Richard Kern’s early involvement in the No Wave scene significantly shaped his photographic style and thematic focus. Emerging from New York City’s underground culture in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kern’s artistic roots in the No Wave movement profoundly influenced his later photographic work in several key ways:

1. Raw aesthetic: Kern’s photography maintains the gritty, unpolished look characteristic of No Wave art. His images often feature a raw, immediate quality that reflects the DIY ethos of the movement.
   
2. Transgressive themes: As part of the “Cinema of Transgression,” Kern explored taboo subjects and challenged societal norms. This approach carried over into his photography, where he continued to push boundaries with provocative content and themes of sexuality, power, and rebellion.
   
3. Collaborative spirit: The No Wave scene was highly collaborative, with artists working across different mediums. Kern’s early collaborations with musicians like Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch informed his approach to working with subjects and capturing intimate moments.
   
4. Confrontational style: Kern’s early work in film was described as “extremely in-your-face” and aimed at provoking viewers. This confrontational approach translated into his photography, where he often creates images that challenge viewers and explore uncomfortable truths.
   
5. DIY approach: The No Wave movement emphasized a do-it-yourself mentality. Kern’s early experiences producing self-made zines and low-budget films likely contributed to his resourceful and direct approach to photography.
   
6. Exploration of subcultures: The No Wave scene was deeply rooted in New York’s underground culture. This immersion in subcultures continued to influence Kern’s photographic subjects and themes throughout his career.
   

Kern’s transition from experimental filmmaker to photographer represented a refinement of his artistic vision rather than a complete departure. The raw energy, provocative themes, and uncompromising approach that characterized his early No Wave work remained central to his photographic practice, allowing him to create a distinctive and influential body of work that continues to challenge and engage viewers.

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Richard Kern’s artistic journey from underground filmmaker (you can watch his full filmography in the previous link) to renowned photographer represents a remarkable continuity of vision across changing mediums and cultural contexts. His work consistently challenges viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about sexuality, power, and representation while maintaining a distinctive aesthetic approach that balances provocative content with documentary directness. The recent publication of his Polaroid collection provides an important historical document of his creative process while offering new insights into his artistic development.

Despite being in his early seventies, Kern continues to evolve as an artist, driven by the same restless creative energy that first emerged in his East Village zines over forty years ago. His influence extends beyond the art world into music, fashion, and popular culture, where his distinctive visual language has inspired countless photographers and filmmakers. The tensions and contradictions in Kern’s work—between exploitation and empowerment, fantasy and reality, objectivity and subjectivity—make it persistently relevant to contemporary discussions about representation and consent.

He also participates in Bruce LaBruce’s documentary “The Advocate for Fagdom” where Testimonies are combined with rare archive images. Art galeries present movie extracts that are succeeded by images shot on location. And the other way round. Writers, film makers, art galeries owners, actors and actresses, photographers, producers, friends and loved ones all join in a game of interpretation, analysis or simple anecdotes. John Waters, Bruce Benderson, Harmony Korine, Gus Van Sant, Richard Kern, Rick Castro… sounds good, isn’t it?

As we examine Richard Kern’s contributions to photography and underground cinema, we find an artist who has remained true to his vision while continuously refining his approach. His Polaroid collection stands as both a historical archive and a coherent artistic statement, revealing the raw immediacy that has always characterised his best work.

Through his unflinching exploration of human sexuality and power dynamics, Kern has created a body of work that continues to provoke, challenge, and illuminate the complexities of human nature.

Just follow the link and judge yourself…

www.richardkern.com/projects