Mick Hartley

I posted about Bob Dylan's paintings back in 2011, on the occasion of a show at the Gagosian Gallery in New York. There were accusations – very well founded accusations – of plagiarism. One canvas in particular was a more or less straight copy of a 1915 photo by Léon Busy. As I said of Dylan at the time:

The thing is, he doesn't care. It's how he works. One of the main interests of his Theme Time Radio Hour shows was the way he happily played so many of the songs that he had, in effect, plagiarised during the course of his career. As for this art show, he must have realised that his sources would be unearthed. How could he not?

The quotation waiting in the wings here, begging to be brought out and dusted down, is that old Oscar Wilde chestnut "Talent borrows, genius steals". For Dylan's music I think that's right. He brazenly pilfered from all manner of sources: blues, folk, country. But what he did with it was genius. Finding the original sources may be an interesting game (and it's not hard), but it does nothing to detract from the man's extraordinary achievements. 

His art, though…well, it would be very generous to make any claims of genius. I saw some of his work earlier in the year here in London. It's perfectly competent, pleasant stuff, but nothing at all special. At this level, yes, the kind of plagiarism that's been uncovered here does matter, I think. It's not a huge deal, and if he'd added "after a photograph by Léon Busy" to the title of his "Opium" picture, no one would have been that bothered. But there is an expectation of originality in an art show at a major gallery. 

Well, he's done it again with his latest exhibition of paintings, The Beaten Path. And the victim of his plagiarism? Our very own Diamond Geezer. A photo he took of Blackpool pier has been re=assigned by Bob to Norfolk, Virginia. Read all about it here – and a follow-up post here.