Tyler Gerth: Imaging Kentucky
Tyler Gerth: Imaging Kentucky
September 2021 – April 2023
Tyler Gerth tragically lost his life on June 27, 2020, while attending and documenting peaceful protests for racial justice in downtown Louisville. While Tyler has become known for the photos that he took recording these protests, his portfolio spans many other subjects. Tyler Gerth: Imaging Kentucky presented Tyler’s protest photos alongside his other work documenting Kentucky’s rural and urban landscapes to present a complete picture of Kentucky through the lens of Tyler Gerth.
A picture by Tyler Gerth of an abandoned storage house at a Kentucky Bourbon distillery.
About Tyler Gerth
Tyler Gerth was a beloved son, cherished little brother, adored uncle and trusted friend. A graduate of Trinity High School (2011) and the University of Kentucky (2016), Tyler was a lifelong learner and held many passions in addition to his corporate career in quality assurance with Papa John’s. Tyler loved watching movies; listening to his vast and diverse record collection, traveling and exploring new places; learning about history through both genealogy research as well as biographies & documentaries; playing and watching a variety of sports; and spending time with family and friends. Tyler was creative, inquisitive, gentle, tenacious, and so very brave. He played the ukulele, had a thriving garden, loved to play with his nieces and nephews, constantly wore some sort of silly socks (tie dye was his favorite), and is still missed terribly by his precious rescue dog Jordan.
“To be excellent to each other”
It was the motto he lived by as he chose to see, and honor the God-given beauty, dignity, and glory in all the people around him. He was incredibly kind, funny, hard-working, and exceedingly generous with his time and finances through his many charitable works such as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Holding deep convictions and faith, it was this sense of justice that drove Tyler to be part of the peaceful demonstrations advocating for the destruction of the systematic racism within our society’s systems.
A young man sings Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” as people march in downtown Louisville during the Breonna Taylor protests.