Contact Sheet 121: Bill Arnold: Everyday Poetry

One of Arnold’s mentors at the Art Institute was former FSA photographer and legendary teacher John Collier. His advice to Arnold, that one had to, "feed the photograph back," or continue to build on the one moment captured, to realize the next moment’s potential, was a lesson that has guided Arnold’s work for nearly four decades. The half-frame camera and Itek printer became the means for Arnold to continually "feed the photograph back," and his desire to "cheer for life in all its parts," became his inspiration for celebrating that discovery.