Art imitating Art: Dylan Paintings Draw Scrutiny

Juan Valdenebro said:
The more I read upset people's comments, the more I think a part of it was done on purpose by Dylan... It reminds me of the mid-sixties when he was sure his folk-acoustic-protest years had defined a huge group of followers who were indeed just trying to limit his style and pubic behavior into their own limits and beliefs, and then he went electric and his bet was poetry over social content... Maybe he already heard, before even thinking of the exhibition- that very strange opinion (to me) about his humble and enjoyable -and not pretentious- painting from photographs being "vulgar copying including the desire of stealing because he's not an artist and has no creativity"... I really think he doesn't need any kind of defense, but perhaps, he just needed the same he's always needed: pushing other people's barriers... But apart from that, he's been drawing and painting for decades because he likes it and enjoys it, and that part of his expression has always had a lyric character: I mean there's some art there too... No need at all to consider that his main expression, or one as relevant as his poetry... All of us can say what we think of all his drawings and paintings, but they express things to me and other people, and I've seen some of them since I was a child, and I would gladly own that painting he did from the photograph by Cartier-Bresson... I would be very happy if I had it hanging here at home... It's a unique piece of art and I'd prefer it to owning "a print" from that HCB's negative. And the painting shows the same fragment of reality the photograph did, and I admire both creators, and enjoy to imagine how both enjoyed the process of creating both similar but different works, and also how they enjoy their final results, and especially, how they enjoy our world and share it... Maybe this is about freedom. I find this whole story fascinating.

Cheers,

Juan
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All very fine sentiments Juan, if only he hadn't said they were his own visions then perhaps I could somewhat agree with you. Your love for him and mankind is a credit to you 🙂
 
Back in the early 70's I studied under a great master painter
till I discovered that he bought his paintings wholesale from assembly lines in China. He'd buy landscapes in bulk by the 100's and paint some signature affectation he was known for,
such as an Indian Tipi or a young Indian girl kneeling in the grass, and he would paint out the Chinese assembly line workers fake English name and paint in his own. Then he would charge exorbitant prices to the gullible masses.
It worked like a charm. The funniest thing about it was he basically hired me to paint the tipis and Indian girls. I was crushed.

He was a con artist.

If you like Dylan's art, then by all means, buy it.
I say his paintings are worthless, but hey, I'll bet lots of people are undoubtedly paying stupid prices for that crap.

The irony for me is that I've always really loved his music and lyrics. They pulsate with enigma and mystery.

I don't know, maybe the rumors are true and he really did sell his soul to the devil. 😀
 
Jack Conrad said:
Back in the early 70's I studied under a great master painter
till I discovered that he bought his paintings wholesale from assembly lines in China. He'd buy landscapes in bulk by the 100's and paint some signature affectation he was known for,
such as an Indian Tipi or a young Indian girl kneeling in the grass, and he would paint out the Chinese assembly line workers fake English name and paint in his own. Then he would charge exorbitant prices to the gullible masses.
It worked like a charm. The funniest thing about it was he basically hired me to paint the tipis and Indian girls. I was crushed.

He was a con artist.

If you like Dylan's art, then by all means, buy it.
I say his paintings are worthless, but hey, I'll bet lots of people are undoubtedly paying stupid prices for that crap.

The irony for me is that I've always really loved his music and lyrics. They pulsate with enigma and mystery.

I don't know, maybe the rumors are true and he really did sell his soul to the devil. 😀
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Music maybe a little different, but the concept is the same. Bobby Zimmerman changed his name to Bob Dylan (marketing) and capitalized on the stupid 60s (marketing)(I was there), and he wrote some good lyrics (marketing)(for then, but not for me, and in retrospect not for anyone) and had a three or four note song that were nothing more than a tone poem. So, maybe he had some talent, BUT his real talent like your teacher's was in marketing. We had plenty of people doing art, photography and music in the 60s that were creative and unaffected by 'marketing' and they were rewarded for their efforts (at least I hope they were), but R. Z. was not one of them (although he was rewarded financially, but he is still a hollow man).
 
d_ross said:
All very fine sentiments Juan, if only he hadn't said they were his own visions then perhaps I could somewhat agree with you. Your love for him and mankind is a credit to you 🙂
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1. Yet I haven't seen or heard him say that (video) to judge what in my opinion he meant, I mean just in case he said that precisely...

2. What I read from someone else's internet posting was "in general I paint from reality... It happens in lots of different ways..." or something like that...

3. No matter if he used a piece of reality he didn't capture as a photographer, indeed he did his "own vision" just because of deciding to do a painting, and by doing it the way he decided to do it.

I understand you don't consider a painting made from a photograph a possibility... I do. It's not too different from a model posing... A photograph, if it's a honest one, is just reality in front of us.

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
1. Yet I haven't seen or heard him say that (video) to judge what in my opinion he meant, I mean just in case he said that precisely...

2. What I read from someone else's internet posting was "in general I paint from reality... It happens in lots of different ways..." or something like that...

3. No matter if he used a piece of reality he didn't capture as a photographer, indeed he did his "own vision" just because of deciding to do a painting, and by doing it the way he decided to do it.

I understand you don't consider a painting made from a photograph a possibility... I do. It's not too different from a model posing... A photograph, if it's a honest one, is just reality in front of us.

Cheers,

Juan
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1, He said these were his observations of Asia, not his observations of other peoples images-observations of Asia.:bang:

2, Do you really believe that painting from someone else's photograph is painting from reality? seriously? that's painting from another persons reality, not his.:bang:

3, his own vision? vision of what, a photograph? So his vision is to look at a photograph from decades ago and copy it? :bang:
 
I think it fitting to repeat this from the original post"

When the gallery announced the exhibition, called “The Asia Series,” this month, it said the collection of paintings and other artwork would provide “a visual journal” of Mr. Dylan’s travels “in Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea,” with “firsthand depictions of people, street scenes, architecture and landscape.”

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps he had an art book with all the images in it that he carried with him on his travels, for it to be a visual journal” of Mr. Dylan’s travels “
 
d_ross said:
1, He said these were his observations of Asia, not his observations of other peoples images-observations of Asia.:bang:

2, Do you really believe that painting from someone else's photograph is painting from reality? seriously? that's painting from another persons reality, not his.:bang:

3, his own vision? vision of what, a photograph? So his vision is to look at a photograph from decades ago and copy it? :bang:
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HCB's photograph is not "his observation of Asia" but plain reality.

"Another person's reality" is something that just doesn't exist... Reality exists, only one, plainly, and cameras reflect it. It's Asia (and reality) what lives in HCB's and Dylan's works...

Of course reality can be perceived in a photograph, and obviously a painter can decide to paint from reality in different ways: some paintings come from non-posing subjects reality, some others from posing models, some others from memories (yes, reality too! A distant reality...) and why not some others from reality on photographs? That's not HCB's reality: you're very wrong! Reality was there, happening, with or without HCB!

Not only has Dylan painted and painted from reality, doing it in his own ways (his vision) but he's also done it because he knew he was going to make some people say you can't be that free... 🙂

Cheers,

Juan
 
d_ross said:
Mind you perhaps going by what people are relating here about Mr Dylan perhaps that is his vision after all, and therefore you are absolutely correct 🙂
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I respect what is said about Dylan in general: one of the greatest artists of all time... Caring about what a few individuals say would be staying too far from reality to my liking.

Cheers,

Juan
 
d_ross said:
I think it fitting to repeat this from the original post"

When the gallery announced the exhibition, called “The Asia Series,” this month, it said the collection of paintings and other artwork would provide “a visual journal” of Mr. Dylan’s travels “in Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea,” with “firsthand depictions of people, street scenes, architecture and landscape.”

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps he had an art book with all the images in it that he carried with him on his travels, for it to be a visual journal” of Mr. Dylan’s travels “
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Perhaps the exhibition/series are indeed all that: lots of different paintings including in situ ones too, and you just need to talk about Dylan badly and in public, and for doing it you need to focus on his painting from some photographs, instead of seeing the whole thing... Anyway what you've been saying speaks a lot more about yourself than about him.

Cheers,

Juan
 
"HCB's photograph is not "his observation of Asia" but plain reality"

Really; you believe that HCB's photograph, the one Dylan copied, isn't HCB's own observation of Asia? but just plain reality! Seriously? So every picture ever taken is just reality, not an individuals interpretation of it?

Oh and by the way, I believe that many great paintings have been made from photographs, even other peoples photographs! I just don't believe Dylan is one of those painters!
 
Juan, I know your loving this 🙂 as I'll add am I.

So tell me, how the f**k is that painting of HCB's photograph a part of Dylan's visual journal from his travels in Asia? if you can honestly answer that your a genius!

I travel, I photograph, and I keep journals, and I just cant see it.
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Perhaps the exhibition/series are indeed all that: lots of different paintings including in situ ones too, and you just need to talk about Dylan badly and in public, and for doing it you need to focus on his painting from some photographs, instead of seeing the whole thing... Anyway what you've been saying speaks a lot more about yourself than about him.

Cheers,

Juan
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Yes, it says I have integrity and pay true homage to those whose work I use in my own, which by the way I do often!
 
The gallery said ...

"the composition of some of Bob Dylan's paintings are based on a variety of sources." These include "archival, historic images, the paintings' vibrancy and freshness come from the colors and textures found in everyday scenes he observed."

... when challenged on their claims about the paintings.

Dylan has said nothing, that I can find anyway, he's probably laughing into his hat having wound up the usual bunch of detractors and reactionaries.
 
Sparrow said:
Dylan has said nothing, that I can find anyway, he's probably laughing into his hat having wound up the usual bunch of detractors and reactionaries.
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Remember that it is not he laughing, it is his breath at different pressure rhythms against his throat. 🙄


Oh, hey! I have an idea: I'll create an album of my firsthand impressions of the sixties by recording his songs over a speaker and sell them! As sung art, of course.
 
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