Reviews for Frogtown: Photographs and Conversations in an Urban Neighborhood

The average rating for Frogtown: Photographs and Conversations in an Urban Neighborhood based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-05-27 00:00:00 James Alexandre This is compelling photography, chronicling a very interesting neighborhood in St. Paul. Huie's images reflect a lot of the contemporary urban life in the Twin Cities, as diverse groups of people come to live in close proximity, sparking both tension and awareness. Frogtown demonstrates the realities, positive and negative, of the neighborhood and the people who live there. Huie's work, I feel, could easily affect the attitudes of many towards the area, even ten years later. Both the imagery and the words of the neighborhood's population, Hmong, Polish, black, white, etc. give a little insight into the lives of others. In particular, I found the exhibition of the photos in an outdoor display in Frogtown to be a great example of urban art and social expression. In any case, Huie's work, I feel, really exhibits the life of the growing, changing Twin Cities, and I am glad that such an expressive photographer is recording this dynamic metro.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-01-08 00:00:00 Cheryl Grue Minnesota is my home state, and though I was born not far from Frogtown, my childhood was lived in the north metro suburbs. In many ways -- economically, culturally -- I lived a world apart. What I deeply appreciated about this book is the way it helped me to reunite these worlds into one place. This is a book about Minnesotans. It is made by a Minnesotan, who just happens to be an outstanding photographer, and, better yet, a great artist who shares his work in the communities that help him shape it. Key passage: "A photograph can be as much a piece of fiction as it is a document of the real world--these realms are separate yet somehow complicitous. Indeed, the most compelling photographs shed light on reality in much the way good fiction does." (p. 6)