BOB DYLAN REVISITED13 Graphic Interpretations of Bob Dylan’s Songs
Lyrics by Bob Dylan
For over forty years Bob Dylan has been a seminal voice in American music. His powerful lyrics have influenced generations. Now, in BOB DYLAN REVISITED [W. W. Norton & Company] which comes to us fully authorized by Bob Dylan and SONY Records, thirteen leading graphic artists have returned to Dylan’s classic songs and interpreted them with original artwork.
Their provocative images heighten Dylan’s profound words with dynamic imagery and vibrant colors. Remarkably diverse in their styles, all these artists find surprising ways not only to illustrate Dylan’s lyrics but also to display their own unique insights into his work. Suddenly, often familiar songs take on a whole new life in the hands of these remarkable artists. Although many are French, the artists come from all over the world, including Serbia, Italy and America, and their work is a standing testament to the universality and transcendent vision of Dylan’s American music.
Using stark black-and-white illustrations, Gradimir Smudja retells “Hurricane,” the true story of the unjust prosecution and imprisonment of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. (“How can the life of such a man / Be in the palm of some fool’s hand? / To see him obviously framed / Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land / Where justice is a game.”) The coupling of Dylan’s storytelling with Smudja’s dramatic drawings makes Hurricane’s story into a moving look at American racism. Dave McKean finds the enigmatic soul in Dylan’s wandering “Desolation Row” (“Now the moon is almost hidden / The stars are beginning to hide / The fortune-telling lady / Has even taken all her things inside / All except Cain and Abel / And the hunchback of Notre Dame / Everybody is making love / or else expecting rain.”) McKean produces a powerfully imaginative and haunting phantasmagoria of frightening characters and lurid colors. Thierry Murat’s work, like its inspiration, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” is profound in its simplicity. His sketches provide a thoughtful echo to Dylan’s calls for peace around the world. (Yes ‘n’ how many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry? / Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows / That too many people have died? / The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”) Christopher’s vibrant art recalls the bohemian spirit of Greenwich Village in the 1960s with “Positively 4th Street”, a tale of Dylan’s rapid rise and departure from the folk music scene. Depicting Dylan as a tender performer struggling to deal with isolation and frustration, these drawings tell a moving love story that captures the downtown world of New York. (Do you take me for such a fool / To think I’d make contact / With the one who tries to hide / What he don’t know to begin with.”) Jean-Philippe Bramanti interprets “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” to be a dark stylized Western tragedy. His plum prairie skies conjure the song’s somber surrender. (“Mama, put my guns in the ground / I can’t shoot them anymore / That long black cloud is comin’ down / I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door.”) Throughout this fresh and vibrant collection, the artwork is filled with inspiring political messages, surrealist flourishes and deeply moving meditations.
BOB DYLAN REVISITED reminds us why Dylan’s music will always be relevant. It is a deeply respectful homage to his extraordinary influences and the power he still has over artist and readers. Fans will relish this chance to appreciate Dylan’s work in a new context, while a new generation will be introduced to his lyrical genius with mesmerizing original art.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Publication Date: November 16, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-393-07617-2
Price: $24.95 cloth
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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