Bob Dylan, The Irish Times, and Ted Russell
The Irish Times selected Ted Russell’s exhibition of photographs of Bob Dylan at the Gallery of Photography as the “Pick of the Week” for cultural activities in Dublin. Writer Laurence Mackin wrote a wonderful review of the show.
PICK OF THE WEEK
January 22, 2016
Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village, NYC, 1964 © Ted Russell
Bob Dylan 1961-1964
Gallery of Photography
Temple Bar, Dublin
galleryofphotography.ie
In the early 1960s, photographer Ted Russell embarked on the sort of photography project that used to fill the gorgeous pages of the likes of Life magazine.
Russell wanted to chronicle the trials and tribulations of an upcoming folk singer, and heard about a young firebrand setting the Village scene alight by the name of Bob Dylan.
At this stage Dylan was just 20 and an unknown, and from 1961 to 1964 Russell built up a collection of images that catalogue Dylan’s rise and rise. There are shots backstage at various NYC folk clubs, images with writer and social activist James Baldwin, pictures in his apartment with girlfriend Suze Rotolo, and fresh looking images of Dylan out roaming the canyons of Manhattan.
From now until February 21st, these images make up a gem of an exhibition at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin’s Temple Bar, and the fine art publisher Rizzoli has produced a lush hardback book, featuring a foreword (forepoem would be more accurate) from Donovan, as well as essays by Ted Russell and Chris Murray, founder of Govinda Gallery, which represents some of the world’s best music photographers.
Fans will no doubt be delighted with the insight into Dylan’s early days, when worlds of possibility were opening up for the young singer. For others, it’s an absorbing look at one of the pivotal moments in NYC’s history.