German Museum to Display Dylan Art
U.S. Rocker Bob Dylan's Drawings in Chemnitz Exhibit
Bob Dylan may not be known for his visual artwork, but a museum in Chemnitz, Germany could change that. The musician's drawings will be on display starting in October.
Drawings and sketches by American rock icon Bob Dylan will be on display at a museum in Chemnitz, Germany, next to works by the likes of Picasso, Munch and Toulouse-Lautrec.
Ingrid Moessinger, curator at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz museum learned of Dylan’s artwork through a book of drawings Dylan created from 1989 to 1992.
“I first came across Bob Dylan's book of drawings at an historical exhibition about Bob Dylan at The Morgan Library and Museum in New York,” Moessinger said. “I went straight out and bought my own copy and immediately began to track down the originals.”
“The Drawn Blank Series” includes colored versions of more than 200 pictorial motifs from the book. Moessinger said the works, which are in watercolor and gouache, are exceptional because of their splashes of lively colors.
“I was fascinated to learn of Ingrid's interest in my work, and it gave me the impetus to realize the vision I had for these drawings many years ago,” Dylan, 66, said in a statement the museum released. “If not for this interest, I don't know if I even would have revisited them.”
The exhibit will be on display from Oct. 28 through Feb. 3 in Chemnitz, which is located near the Czech Republic border. The museum, known in English as the Chemnitz Art Collections, is housed in one of few remaining pre-war buildings in the city, which, under the East German regime from 1953-1990, was known as the Karl Marx Stadt.
One of the main tourist sites in Chemnitz is the Karl Marx Monument, which was kept as a relic of the socialist times. The monument was created by Lev Kerbel and residents of Chemnitz affectionately call it “Nischle,” which means “head” in the informal regional Saxon dialect.
Other sites include the castle on land that was previously occupied by a monastery, the Old Town Hall and a red tower, which was built in the 12th or 13th centuries as part of the wall that surrounded the city. Additionally, the Kulturkaufhaus Tietz features a petrified forest that dates back a couple of million years. Burg Rabenstein, Saxony’s tiniest preserved castle, and the mine-museum Felsendome Rabenstein, are also within city limits.
The city also offers a number of recreational opportunities, especially water sports on the Chemnitz River. Plus, visitors can enjoy Wagner performances at the opera house, Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie concerts, a cabaret and more.
Through this museum exhibit, Bob Dylan, known for songs such as “The Times They Are A-Changing’ ” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” may just lure a few people to Chemnitz without even performing a concert.
