Tom Arndt's world is populated by grungy carnies, farmers and teenagers in tight blue jeans. He's all about the inner city -- car dealerships on Lake Street, boomboxes on Portland Avenue and folks who are riding the bus. He also likes small towns, festivals and homey diners. His world has no suburbs.
This wonderful collection of his Minnesota photographs, published to coincide with an exhibit opening this weekend at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, spans nearly 40 years. There's a lot to look at in these large black-and-white photos -- downtown cafeterias and threshing bees, all-star wrestlers and old Twin Cities landmarks, and faces. Wonderful faces, sometimes staring you right in the eye.
Even more interesting to me are his notes at the end, where he tells the story behind each image. It's fascinating to see him confess his early shyness at photographing people, or explain how he does street photography ("It is important that your camera is always focused and the exposure set"), or hear what the folks he was documenting told him about their lives.
The book's foreword, by Garrison Keillor, is written with great affection for the state. And you can tell that Arndt has great affection for the people he sees through his viewfinder. That makes you like them too.
LAURIE HERTZEL
