(New York) Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and Mavis Staples are among the figures expected this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the opening of the Bob Dylan Center, the museum and archives that celebrates the life and work of the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016.
Posted at 12:44 p.m.
But Dylan himself shouldn’t be there—unless he surprises everyone. His absence from the inauguration fits perfectly with the character, admitted Steven Jenkins, director of the center.
It’s certainly unusual for a living personality — Dylan will turn 81 on May 24 — to have a museum dedicated to him, but such is the influence the singer-poet has had on popular music since his appearance in the early 1900s. 1960s.
The center offers an immersive cinematic experience, a performance space, and a studio where visitors can play director and mix different elements of instrumentation into Dylan’s songs. We also offer an organized tour where people can take a musical journey through the stages of his career.
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PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The center offers an immersive cinematic experience, a performance space, and a studio where visitors can play director and mix different elements of instrumentation into Dylan’s songs.
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PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A coat from a Bob Dylan tour in 1978
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PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The museum’s creators wanted to provide an experience both for “die-hard fans” of Dylan and for casual visitors who may not know much about his work.
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PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A bag full of letters and postcards addressed to Bob Dylan.
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PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The lyrics of the song Talkin’ World War III Blues are printed on the steps of the stairs.
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PHOTO SUE OGROCKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Steven Jenkins, director of the Bob Dylan Center
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The archives also contain more than 100,000 documents, many of which are only accessible by university researchers, by appointment.
The museum’s creators wanted to provide an experience both for “die-hard fans” of Dylan and for casual visitors who may not know much about his work.
The museum also hopes to pay homage to the creative process in general: at the opening, it will present an exhibition of works by photographer Jerry Schatzberg, including a snapshot of Dylan taken in 1965 adorns the three-story facade of the Tulsa building.
But since Dylan was born and raised in Minnesota, then started making music in New York, and now lives in California, how does a museum dedicated to his life and work end up in Oklahoma?
Dylan sold his archive in 2016 to the Tulsa-based George Kaiser Family Foundation, which also operates the Woody Guthrie Center — a museum that celebrates one of Dylan’s musical heroes and is a short walk from the new center. But Dylan loves the Guthrie Museum and also appreciates Tulsa’s rich collections of Native American art, Director Jenkins explained.
Bob Dylan designed and built a metal sculpture more than five meters high which will be displayed at the entrance to the museum. But otherwise, he did not interfere with the design of the museum. “If Bob had told us what we could or couldn’t do, it would have looked like a vanity project, in a way,” said designer, Alan Maskin. “It was a huge relief not having to satisfy Bob Dylan. »
Along with a dinner to celebrate the weekend opening, Costello, Smith and Staples will perform separate concerts at Tulsa’s iconic Cain’s Ballroom.
The Bob Dylan Center will open its doors to the general public on May 10.