Image: Dylan with some of his iron work.
Bob Dylan has developed an exhibition of iron sculptures titled Mood Swings, on display at the Halcyon Gallery in London.
The exhibition of iron gates pays homage to his home town, his childhood and the changing of the times, economically, socially and developmentally.
Dylan was born and raised in the iron ore territory of Hibbing, Minnesota.
He said he ‘could breathe it [iron ore] and smell it every day’.
Andrew Kelly, a music writer and industry professional who has worked for Universal, BMG, Sanctuary and My Major Company, discusses the exhibition in a catalogue’s Foreword.
He argues that ‘We judge Dylan first and foremost by his musical output and not as an artist in the widest sense, which is what he truly is’. He is also a painter, draughtsman, and a sculptor.
In a 1984 interview with the Rolling Stone’s Kurt Loder, Dylan said ‘where I come from, they really got that deal good, with the ore… nine percent of the iron for the Second World War came out of the those mines, up where I’m from… You’re pretty much ruled by nature… You have to sort of fall into line with that, regardless of how you’re feeling that day or what you might want to do with your life.’
Kelly says the dual influence of iron and nature on Dylan’s youth ‘is exactly the juxtaposition contained within the [iron] Gates he has made’.
‘The Gates are a statement of shared history for the artist and the State in which he was born… Dylan’s Gates are in thrall to a sadly shrinking industrial and manufacturing culture, an American shrine to skills people no longer wish to learn, which gives these iron monuments a tinge of melancholy.’
Yet Kelly argues ‘It is hard to recall a time in his other artistic endeavours when Dylan references music so overtly’ as the Gates feature tiny musical symbols; a treble clef, a guitar.
In summary, Kelly says, ‘Faced with their symbolic potential, [Dylan’s] unbridled creativity has shown reverence for the past, for industry and agriculture of the kind now being consigned to the past in the developed world. Dylan has never been comfortable with the relentless march of technology… and this art is representative of that mistrust. His faith is still in the soil and the hand and the tool.’
The iron works are being shown alongside original paintings and signed limited edition prints, and a new collection of original silkscreen works on canvas.
Paul Green, President of Halcyon Gallery, said the exhibition is ‘the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Bob Dylan’s art to date. While Dylan has been a committed visual artist for more than four decades, this exhibition [casts] new light on one of the world’s most important and influential cultural figures of our time. His iron works demonstrate his boundless creativity and talent. As these artworks are made at home, not on the road, they give us a rare glimpse into another part of the artist’s own personal universe.’
Mood Swings is on display until 25 January 2014.
