2006年VOA标准英语-Bob Dylan Headlines Exhibit of his Early Work

By Amanda Cassandra
New York
02 October 2006

Modern music icon¹ Bob Dylan's original song lyrics² and other artifacts are on display alongside original 18th century manuscripts by Mozart and Beethoven at New York's Morgan Library.

 
Bob Dylan, May 2, 2006 
Bob Dylan is considered one of the major songwriters of the 20th Century. Songs, such as Blowing in the Wind, "Like a Rolling Stone, and The Times They Are A-Changin, helped define the turbulent 1960s. But finding his original lyrics in the company of manuscripts by Beethoven and Mozart may surprise some visitors to the Morgan Library.

Curator Jasen Emmons says artists are rarely honored during their lifetimes so, he says, this show is a chance to recognize the great body of work Dylan has produced.

"I think often what happens is when people do a retrospective is when they've passed away and people are feeling nostalgic about it. I think one of the things that's exciting about doing it now is that Bob Dylan is still alive," he said. "He just released one of his best albums recently. So I think it's a great way to appreciate him now so people when they go the shows will remember what a fantastic artist he was and still is."

 
 
The exhibition Bob Dylan's American Journey at the Morgan spans the early years of Dylan's career from 1956 to 1966, chronicling the evolution of Dylan's musical style from folk balladeer to rock and roll idol³.

In a career spanning five decades, Dylan has mixed several musical genres⁴, earning him the adoration⁵ of fans and the respect of music critics.

Emmons says people already know Dylan's music, but the exhibit shows people the man behind the music.

"Bob Dylan is such a music idol now that I think one of the things the exhibit does is it really humanizes him," he said. "You see a lot of the personal side of Bob Dylan that a lot of people aren't aware of. One of the first couple of poems that he wrote as a teenager, or a picture of him straddling a Harley Davidson when he was 15, or outtakes from the Free Wheelin' Bob Dylan Cover. I think those sort of personal touches show people who he is."

The show opens with memorabilia from 1956 when Bob Dylan was still known as Robert Allen Zimmerman, a high school student in the small midwestern town of Hibbing, Minnesota. The show then follows Dylan's personal and artistic⁶ growth, influenced by the turbulent events of the Civil Rights and Vietnam War movements.

In his early work, Dylan tried to imitate his folk singing idol Woody Guthrie. Emmons says it was during the pivotal 10 years covered in the exhibit that Dylan developed his own musical identity.

" When Bob Dylan first came to New York City, he was really sort of the Woody Guthrie jukebox," he said. "He was playing Woody Guthrie all the time and then Ramblin' Jack⁷ Elliott came back from a tour of England and he was doing that better than anybody. He was very close to Woody Guthrie. When Bob Dylan saw him play, he thought 'Oh my God! Somebody's already doing this.' and he realized if he was going to make it, he was going to have to come up with something more original. That was really one of the things that sparked his own songwriting, trying to create something for himself and from there on he developed the style that he is so famous for now."

Booths in the show allow visitors to watch footage of Dylan's live performances and listen to songs from albums released during the period covered in the show.

The biographical exhibit includes over 150 objects including Dylan's highschool school yearbook, handwritten and typed lyrics and letters. Instruments like Dylan's signature guitar and harmonica are also shown to give visitors a comprehensive portrait of the man who became a music legend.

1 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

2 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

3 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

4 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

5 adoration   

n.爱慕，崇拜

参考例句：

• He gazed at her with pure adoration.他一往情深地注视着她。
• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。