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Dylan and Picasso: Masterminds of Their Times

Jacqueline Tawney
ENGL 103



Art allows the observer to see what already exists through an entirely new
window the window of the artist with immensely creative, imaginative, and
passionate eyes. In this case, the artists are Bob Dylan and Pablo Picasso, two
geniuses with similar minds and similar ideas, but entirely different ways of portraying
themselves in different times and places. The windows are Dylans songs and Picassos
paintings, everlasting entries in the history book of human culture.
Bob Dylan has been an active American singer and songwriter since 1961. He
has recorded thirty-five albums that range from folk to rock to country and more.
Commonly called the voice of his generation, Dylan sang of poverty, the powerless
versus the powerful, war, prejudice, change, and love. Pablo Picasso, a Spanish artist
born in 1881, has created thousands of paintings, sculptures, and drawings that all
embody his fluctuating mental states, his love life, and his social and political
observations.
The similarities between Dylan and Picasso begin with their behaviors and carry
on throughout their themes, mindsets, and influence. They were constantly reinventing
themselves in ways that would shock their followers time and time again, but their
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reinventions were vital to their art, as this allowed the men to grow and develop as their
desires and styles changed with time. Stemmed from this and their endless devotion to
creating art over and over again comes two prolific collections by two timeless
masterminds.
Both Dylan and Picasso had a similar tone in their works in their early twenties.
Thematically and emotionally, Picassos blue period (1901-1904) reflects many aspects
of Dylans early albums from The Freewheelin Bob Dylan (1963) to The Times They
Are A-Changin (1964). Both stages call attention to the poverty, the oppression, and
the exploitation experienced by people during their respective times. For Picasso, his
gloom was the result of hearing about his good
friends, Casagemas, suicide. This news struck
Picasso into a deep depression that he did not
emerge from until much later in his career. An
outcome of this depression was the blue period,
which consisted of various paintings all with a
melancholy atmosphere and a monochromatic blue
hue to compliment it. Figure 1, The Old Guitarist, a
painting Picasso created in 1903, embodies the
darkness and discomfort Picasso portrays in most of
the paintings throughout the blue period. According
to the Art Institute of Chicago, Picasso
presented The Old Guitarist as a timeless
expression of human suffering, (About This
Artwork). With his blindness, hunched figure, and
tattered clothing, it is clear that Picasso is commenting on the impoverished and
rejected classes. The institute clarifies, The image reflects the struggling twenty-two-
year-old Picassos sympathy for the plight of the downtrodden; he knew what it was like
to be poor, having been nearly penniless during all of 1902. His works from this time
depict the miseries of the destitute, the ill, and the outcasts of society.
In comparison, many of Dylans songs accomplish a similar ambiance. For
instance, in Ballad Of Hollis Brown Dylan tells the story of an impoverished mans
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struggle to care for himself and for his family. One line explains, You prayed to the Lord
above oh please send you a friend. Your empty pockets tell yuh that you aint a-got no
friend, (25-30). The times are so hard for Hollis Brown that he spends the last of his
money on bullets to kill his family and himself just to rid everyone from the inevitable
suffering. The song portrays poverty and the loneliness and desperation that comes
from it, and although no one knows the past or the future of the old guitarist, it is clear
that in his current condition he will not have much more life to live. The difference
between Dylans approach compared to Picassos is that Dylan was primarily singing
songs like The Ballad of Hollis Brown to share his knowledge of the horrors that the
poor and struggling members of society face, while Picasso was battling his own
poverty and loneliness. Still, in both instances, these artists validate and expose the
pain and suffering experienced by many who are not capable of sharing and
documenting their stories through musical or visual art.
The purpose of art is not always clear
though, especially when considering the more
abstract pieces by Picasso or the deeply
metaphoric lyrics by Dylan. In either case, the
observer or listener must pay very close attention
to the details while constantly keeping in mind the
bigger idea. They must soak in the images or the
words and decode them through their own
devices. That is really the beauty of the abstract
there are endless explanations and
interpretations, and often times, this was
intended. Another thing for people to keep in
mind is the personal life of the artist, which is
also reflected in the pieces, whether intended or not. For example, Picassos cubism
allowed him to create very unique and interesting symbols for the continual subject
matter of women in his life. In his painting, Girl Before a Mirror, seen in Figure 2, he
paints one of his favorite subjects, his young mistress Marie- Thrse Walter. Many
interpretations of this painting exist, most of which include the symbolism of the two
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sides of her face, the reflection, and the background. The two sides of her face could
portray the soft made up beauty during the daytime while the rougher charcoal texture
could represent her mask-less vulnerability. Looking into the mirror, she could either be
seeing an older version of herself based off the green discoloration and darkened skin,
or maybe she is self-conscious and believes she is uglier than she truly is. Symbolism
even exists on the walls, as the Museum of Modern Art explains, The diamond-
patterned wallpaper recalls the costume of the Harlequin, the comic character from the
commedia dell'arte with whom Picasso often identified himselfhere a silent witness to
the girl's psychic and physical transformations, (The Museum of Modern Art).
Symbolism and hidden meanings also exist in nearly all of Dylans songs, so
much so that it is impossible to provide one singular and definite explanation to most of
his lyrics. One album in particular, Blonde on Blonde, has many exemplary cases. A
song that has a somewhat clearer vision of Dylans intentions is Stuck Inside of Mobile
with the Memphis Blues Again. The big picture during the song is that Dylan is singing
about being stuck in one place while longing to be in another as he asks, Oh, Mama,
can this really be the end? To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again?
(9-11). This idea reflects his situation when he was a part of the folk music scene while
wanting to plug in for rock and roll. Mobile, Alabama is a symbol for the folk movement,
while Memphis is the rock and roll capital of the country. Throughout the song, more
symbols arise when he mentions all the different characters such as Shakespeare,
Mona, Grandpa, the senator, and the preacher. The use of all these characters and
their situations are singular parts of the song that illustrate various aspects of Dylans
feelings, but they all lead back to his main idea of constantly longing to be somewhere
he is not and why this could be so. Other songs such as Leaopard-Skin Pillbox Hat,
Visions of Johanna, and Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands revolve around symbols so
cryptic that Dylan fans are still trying to uncover their intended messages. Regardless of
their lack of decipherability, it seems as though Dylan truly meant every lyric he wrote,
just as Picasso did for every brushstroke he made.

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One theme that Dylan and Picasso share that seems to intentionally require
minimal decoding is war. For Picasso, he painted about war during the Spanish Civil
War, particularly after hearing of the bombing of Guernica. This lead to his arguably
most famous piece, Guernica, as well as The Weeping Woman. Guernica, shown in
Figure 3, expresses the horror, confusion, and pain inflicted on the people of the town.
Picasso paints every face with an expression of fear so observers can easily tell that the
message Picasso is showing is to end the brutality and inhumanity of war because it
terrorizes the innocent people. In The Weeping Woman, Picasso strays from the big
picture of Guernica and focuses on a singular story,
a woman who embodies suffering. Her tears seem
to have stripped away her skin. Her handkerchief is
like a jagged shard of glass she stuffs into her
mouth. Between these two paintings, Picasso
makes it nearly impossible for viewers to ignore the
pain and suffering of those experiencing war.
Guernica went on brief world tour after its
completion, bringing the Spanish Civil War to the
rest of the worlds attention. A website dedicated to
Picasso puts it into perspective by explaining, This
work has gained a monumental status, becoming a
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perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of
peace, (Guernica).
Dylan approaches the theme of war in a similar manner. His exceedingly blunt
song, Masters of War, illustrates his stance on war very clearly and forcefully. One
verse, probably most parallel to Guernicas images, reads You that never done nothin
but build to destroy, you play with my world like its your little toy. You put a gun in my
hand, and you hide from my eyes, and you turn and run farther when the fast bullets
fly, (9-16). Here, Dylan explains that war is destructive for no good reason and that the
people behind the war have no idea what kind of pain they are causing because they
are not the ones experiencing it. This song could also provide a possible story behind
The Weeping Woman, as one of the lyrics reads, Youve thrown the worst fear that can
ever be hurled, fear to bring children into the world. For threatening my baby unborn
and unnamed, you aint worth the blood that runs in your veins, (33-40). Juxtaposing
these pieces allows observers to put personal stories to the painting, creating the
possibility that the womans fears came true. She might have lost her child or a loved
one to war, and now she will never experience happiness or security again. Individually,
these works clearly succeed in illustrating the tribulations of war, but with the common
theme and differing media, uniting the two gives a much deeper understanding of the
emotions and hardships of individual experiences. Just as Picasso mastered storytelling
with paint, Dylan mastered it with words and sounds. Either seems unstoppable when
trying to convey a message or a feeling, especially with something as widespread and
powerful as war.
Dylan and Picasso both have a unique way of conveying their own emotions,
opinions, and lives into their work while invoking emotions and awareness in their
followers. Both are exemplary models of how art is a universal language through
different times and cultures, and these are just a few examples of how their themes
overlap and how their influences have changed the world in similar ways through
comparable methods. Dylan and Picasso made their audiences think critically about
their messages, opening new windows for exploration and understanding that would
have never existed before these two brilliant men created art that would be studied and
cherished throughout time.
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Works Cited

"About This Artwork - The Old Guitarist." Art Institute Chicago. Art Institute Chicago, n.d.
Web. 01 May 2014.
Dylan, Bob. Ballad Of Hollis Brown. Bob Dylan. Tom Wilson, 1964. MP3.
--. Masters of War. Bob Dylan. John Hammond, Tom Wilson, 1963. MP3.
--. Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again. Bob Dylan. Bob Johnston,
1966. MP3.
"Guernica." Pablo Picasso. Www.PabloPicasso.org, n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights, New York: The Museum of Modern Art,
revised 2004, originally published 1999, p. 161

All photos gathered from http://www.pablopicasso.org/