Bob Dylan Pens Rare Essay, Offers Virtual Tour of Painting Exhibition
Bob Dylan’s paintings of American landscapes are being exhibited in London’s Halcyon Gallery. The show is called “The Beaten Path,” and Dylan has written an introduction to the exhibition in a rare essay published by Vanity Fair. In the piece, the Nobel Prize winner remembers moments from his past like a show he played with the Band in 1974. He then discusses what he’s drawn to as a painter, elaborates on his techniques, breaks down his use of iconography, and discusses some of the greatest artists of all time. It’s definitely worth reading the entire thing; find some excerpts below.
Vanity Fair have also shared a full 360-degree tour of the exhibition—find that below, as well. The essay is accompanied by some up-close looks at some of Dylan’s paintings, including one of a theater marquee featuring the names Nas and Broken Bells.
On painting landscapes:
The common theme of these works having something to do with the American landscape—how you see it while crisscrossing the land and seeing it for what it’s worth. Staying out of the mainstream and traveling the back roads, free-born style. I believe that the key to the future is in the remnants of the past. That you have to master the idioms of your own time before you can have any identity in the present tense. Your past begins the day you were born and to disregard it is cheating yourself of who you really are.
On the soundtrack he’s give the exhibition:
If there is a soundtrack to this compilation of paintings, I would say it could be recordings by Peetie Wheatstraw in some places, Charlie Parker in others, Clifford Brown or Blind Lemon, maybe Guitar Slim—artists that make us a lot bigger when listening to them. It would have to be that way. Absolutely.
A photo posted by Halcyon Gallery (@halcyongallery) on Oct 31, 2016 at 10:25am PDT
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