Mpls. Institute of Art offers photos of 'Resistance'

When this show — consisting of about 60 protest photos, culled from the Minneapolis Institute of Art's permanent collection and chronicling various moments of 20th-century activism — opened on Nov. 5, it was political in an affirming, noble sort of way. Some black kids holding Walter Mondale signs here, a few punks in Reagan masks there. Plucky freedom of speech as far as the eye could see. Post-election, the show reads as something else entirely — a real-time demonstration of how powerfully current events can construct (and bend) a narrative in the images we see, especially in ostensibly objective documentary work. The show, which features A-list Magnum photogs Gordon Parks and Danny Lyon as well as local greats like Tom Arndt, is a master stroke for Yasufumi Nakamori, who just joined the museum as curator of photography and new media. (Through April 16. 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls. artsmia.org)

GREGORY J. SCOTT