As a working photographer, also know as commercial photographer, his entire career, Kern never made a photograph to hang in a gallery nor did he consider his work as Art to hang in a gallery.

 

However, from the 1980's, especially into the 1990's, Kern was interviewed quite a bit for photography, graphic arts and culture magazines, and the subject of his work being Art always came up.  Writers wondered when writing about him, can commercial work be Art?  This seemed to be a new idea.

 

Although Kern made photographs for magazines and advertisers, he never worked from someone else's layout.  He was always given the freedom to develop the idea, quite uncommon given what was at stake in high level advertising.

 

Most of the time the idea was accepted and Kern proceeded with his sketches as layouts.  This is why he was known as an auteur, a rarity for the types of clients he was working for.  The resulting work was more times than not award winning.  It broadly influenced the entire industry from photographers to art directors.  An art director once told Kern- "A photographer can make an entire career out of just one of your photographs."

 

In 1991 the famous gallerist David Fahey of Fahey-Klein Gallery approached Kern to have a solo show.  Kern visited Fahey in Hollywood and was shown the gallery, met Benedikt Taschen (of Taschen Publishing) at his house in the Hollywood Hills, and photographer George Hurrell (in the alley behind the gallery during a fire drill).  Still, Kern did not get around to having his first exhibit, a solo one, at Fahey-Klein, until 2010.

 

These events, in 2026, seem anachronistic since the industry has changed completely.  But in the history of photography, as the 20th century came to a close and photography, by many accounts, to its conclusion, Kern's influence is undeniable as one looks at his body of work, interviews, and contemporary photographers who copied his work either in spirit or literally by the numbers.

 

Most of Kern's prints for exhibit or collectors are from pre 2000, when his work, in his opinion, had greater significance.