BOB DYLAN ENCYCLOPEDIA: A BLOG 2006-2012

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: Name: Michael Gray

the pioneer of Dylan Studies; writer, public speaker, critic; became a Doctor of Letters in 2015 (awarded by the University of York, UK)

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Monday, November 01, 2010

BOB DYLAN, MARIE JAOUAN, STAIRCASES

Above: Dylan's staircase painting; below: Staircase painting by Marie Jaouan (date unknown).

You can see more of Marie Jaouan's paintings and pastels at http://mariejaouan.free.fr

6 Comments:

Kieran said...: What, sir, are you insinuating? That the original folk artist Bob Dylan is no longer original?

Never!

However - and seriously - I think both paintings are lame. A staircase is a curious visual, and we all took wonky photos of stair wells and layers of steps. I'd give the old cove the benefit of the doubt, while encouraging him to concentrate on his writing again...; 4:01 pm
Michael Gray said...: Actually I wasn't insinuating anything! And I like both paintings.; 4:16 pm
Kieran said...: You remember recently on your blog you quoted Bob Neuwirth in the No Direction Home doc, saying that when they were sharp in the 60's the criteria they'd place on judging somebody was to ask, "do they have anything to say?"

Increasingly, Bob doesn't appear to have much to say, but he's gamely hanging on, creating different things in different ways - which I admire. The paintings are "nice", the kind of things that would look lovely in the hall with the right type of wallpaper, but they don't inspire anything in me. Not even the dreaded nostalgia Bob champions so well.

I didn't mean to insinuate you were insinuating anything - or maybe I did. Can't remember! But both paintings are sweet, and Bob's all the more so because he's an "amateur..."; 8:17 pm
Jack Evans said...: I've got Sunflowers hanging up in my living room.
I really wanted to get a Train Tracks, but didn't have the funds when they were available. I think the art stands on it's own regardless of the artist. I also have sealed
copies of Truck Stop and Bicycle. I bought them
because I liked them, but may save them as investment
pieces.; 2:35 pm
Tricia said...: The brown one (Bob's) reminds me of the nice little hotel we stayed in some years ago in Paris. Also rather curiously reminded of this :
http://www.searchingforagem.com/1970s/dylxdbl.jpg

That's a tiny picture so I'll expand a little - it's the cover of David Blue's 1975 album 'Who Love (If Not You Love), on which Dylan is supposed to play harmonica on one track.

Trivia alert!; 12:13 am
Tricia said...: Correction to my comment: the David Blue album is called Com'n Back For More, the title I gave is the song Dylan's supposed to play harmonica on.; 12:15 am