If you were hanging around Minneapolis during the 1970s, you might want to look at "Home, Tom Arndt’s Minnesota," because it’s possible you’re in the book. Or you might want to check out his photo exhibition starting this weekend at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

This collection of photographs includes so many scenes from the streets of downtown, the State Fair, restaurants and public gatherings that I found myself scanning the faces for people I know, even though I was such a little kid in those years that I don’t even remember the bad fashions Arndt captured, or even the good ones, like the men wearing hats.

Spanning 40 years, these moments freeze a lost time, a lost Minneapolis, and, when Arndt visits rural farming relatives with camera in hand, a lost way of life. The best part of the book comes at the end (although Garrison Keillor contributes a nice foreword; the men are pals), when the photographer gives a little insight into the making of each photo:

"I was just starting to approach people [as a young photographer] so making this photo was scary for me, but these guys were cool."

"The seventies are the last decade when men wore actual hats, not just baseball caps turned backward."

"These were nice people."

"Walter Mondale has this photograph in his office."

Over and over, he writes, "I miss ..." and "I will never forget..." Which is the whole reason for making pictures, isn’t it? Take a bunch, wait four decades, and there you have it: your memories, given back to you. (Check out some of Arndt's photos here for the MIA show.)

Arndt’s memories will be on display at the MIA from Feb. 21 to June 21. A public opening reception is from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20.