Bob Dylan Revisited: 13 Graphic Interpretations of Bob Dylan's Songs
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Music
Bob Dylan Revisited: 13 Graphic Interpretations of Bob Dylan's Songs Details
From Publishers Weekly Sixteen cartoonists, mostly European, interpret 13 of Bob Dylan's most familiar lyrics in this lavishly illustrated oversized book. Dylan's songs don't generally call out for visual accompaniment—they map out emotional states or tell stories, but provide all the images they require. There's plenty of stylishness and a wide range of illustrative technique; unfortunately, few of the contributors have anything in particular to say about or add to Dylan's words. Some artists settle for redundant representations of the lyrics, including Bramanti's western death scene for Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Gradimir Smudja's semiphotorealist Hurricane. Even Dave McKean, rendering Desolation Row with his usual multimedia technique and surreal distortion of space, can't help packing his story with literal renderings of individual lines. Other artists simply throw their hands up: Bézian accompanies Tombstone Blues ' hilarious torrent of language with apropos-of-nothing drawings of girders, railroad tracks and a crowd of people, and Jean-Claude Götting's Lay, Lady, Lay is a brief erotic scenario that just happens to involve a big brass bed. The most rewarding piece is actually a commentary on Dylan himself: Zep's interpretation of Not Dark Yet shows four sly caricatures of the songwriter in the various phases of his career. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more Review “[N]early all the graphic interpretations are visually striking, some even breathtaking in their powerful imagery.” - Kristina Lindgren, Los Angeles Times Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
For anyone who loves and respects Bob Dylan and his incredible, incalcuable contribution to the arts and society, this is a must. There are 13 songs and 13 graphic interpretatons, one each of each song. Each one of the superbly qualified graphic artists bring their own particular interpretation to one of his most deeply written lyrics and songs to the page, and innure each song with other layers of insight and meaning through the visual art for the viewers consideration. Bob, himself, is a remarkable visual artist, and (I would guess) must be honored by the skillfully fine interpretation of his works. This is a deeply touching book honoring one of the world's finest and most important artists, as well as some of the most poignantly written words ever brought forth from pen to paper. I suggest you not miss this one. I'm glad I didn't.
