"Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956-1966" Opens At the Minneapolis' Weisman Art Muesum
Look and listen your way through the extensive Dylan exhibit at the University of Minnesota’s Weisman Art Museum. Open March 3rd through April 29th “Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966 “ follows the American icon from high school in Hibbing, MN though going electric at the Newport Folk Festival.
It starts with the history of Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, MN goes through the musician’s early days in Minneapolis’ Dinkytown area, then on to Grenech Village in NYC. The exhibit does an exceptionally good job of tracing Dylan’s evolution with letters and personal items. Back story on Woody Guthrie, whom Dylan emulated in his early years, is a mini exhibit in its own right. Dylan’s importance in linking the Civil Rights Movement and the broader youth culture of the 1960s through music is nicely illuminated.
Sound booths in the center of the exhibit allow you to listen to selections from pivotal albums in Dylan’s career. Audio of covers, interviews, and songs that influenced Dylan are sprinkled throughout the exhibit. First hand accounts of Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival are followed by video of the concert, together conveying the radical nature Dylan “plugging in.” Amid Dylan-inspired pop art and merchandise, an entire wall of albums covering “Blowin’ in the Wind” brings home the extent of Bob Dylan’s influence on American music and culture. Hardcore fans and scholars may be interested in the Dylan Symposium held March 24th-27th. 
The Weisman is located at 333 East River Road in Minneapolis. With its shining metal furls, the building is hard to miss. A parking garage sits below the building, accessible from East River Road. Museum admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5 for the Dylan exhibit.
