After his announcement that he would not be in Stockholm to collect the Nobel prize, Bob Dylan had been criticized for insulting the academy as he had no tours or any pre-existing commitments, and he was shunning the prize.
But now it seems the critics were wrong, because Dylan is opening The Beaten Path, an exhibition of his drawings in London which is scheduled to run till the 11th of December, 2016! That too in an area of London which could be considered un-Dylanesque, at the Halcyon Gallery on New Bond street, across the road from Ralph Lauren and Jimmy Choo!
For those who had no idea, Dylan started drawing since 1960 and his works are as real as things can be. According to him
These paintings are up to the moment realism – archaic, most static, but quivering in appearance. They contradict the modern world. However, that’s my doing.
One thing which stands out in his paintings is the fact that they seem to portray a small-town America apparently suspended in the middle of the 20th century, when he was young, a world of diners, movie theaters, hot dog stands and classic cars. And even when he paints a contemporary scene, such as a couple on a pier in Virginia in 2015, the figures are dressed as if they could have been from the 1950s.
There also seems to be a theme around it as Dylan has remarked in his foreword for the catalouge
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 travelling the back roads, free-born style.
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