An intriguing collection of portraits by the internationally acclaimed icon of American music, Face Value accompanies a display of Bob Dylan's previously unseen and unpublished pastels produced for the National Portrait Gallery, London. 'I've done sketching most of my life. In notebooks, on napkins, on rough paper or cardboard, plates and coffee pots ... basically when there's something to look at - so it's not new for me. As to exhibiting it ... ' - Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan is one of America's most influential and important cultural figures. With over 500 songs, 46 albums and an astonishing 110 million record sales to his name, Dylan, now in his early seventies, is turning increasingly to another mode of artistic expression; one that has occupied him throughout his life, but for which he is much less well known. Although Dylan has sketched and drawn since childhood and painted since the late 1960s, only relatively recently has he begun to exhibit his artworks. The twelve works collected in this beautifully produced volume represent his latest foray into portraiture. In an illuminating essay and a rare interview with Bob Dylan, curator and art historian John Elderfield explores the story behind these works and Dylan's approach to his art. Previously, Elderfield has acknowledged that while it may be unsettling when an artist does not adhere to the thing for which we have come to admire him most, Dylan has often asked his audience to get over the discomfort of his changing: 'And don't speak too soon / For the wheel's still in spin ... ' For Elderfield, Dylan's paintings, like his songs, are 'products of the same extraordinary, inventive imagination, the same mind and eye, by the same story-telling artist, for whom showing and telling - the temporal and the spatial, the verbal and the visual - are not easily separated.'
The author of What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? presents an age-appropriate portrait of the iconic music artist that discusses his award-winning achievements, status as a counterculture figure and influence on such performers as John ...
He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose.
A noted historian presents an assessment of Bob Dylan and his music that draws on unprecedented access to rare materials and illuminates key cultural influences.
It is the only book to tell the stories, many unfamiliar even to his most fervent fans, behind the more than 500 songs he has released over the span of his career.
Bob Dylan’s Poetics: How the Songs Work offers both a nuanced engagement with the work of a major artist and a meditation on the contribution of song at times of political and social change.
This witty, personal volume is a distillation of Thomas’s famous course, and makes a compelling case for moving Dylan out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and into the pantheon of Classical poets.
This book features 27 integrated essays that offer access to the art, life, and legacy of one of the world's most influential artists.
Starr breaks down often-overlooked aspects of the works, from Dylan's many vocal styles to his evocative harmonica playing to his choices as a composer.
Early songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" derive central imagery from passages in the books of Ezekiel and Isaiah; mid-career numbers like "Forever Young" are infused with themes from the Bible, Jewish liturgy, and Kabbalah; while late-period ...
Donald Brown follows shifting versions of Dylan, from songs of social involvement to more personal songs, exploring his influential albums, tours, and personas.