Thin Wild Mercury

“Thin Wild Mercury: Dylan 1966” is an immersive multimedia exhibition that captures the spectacle, power and fury of Dylan’s landmark year following his controversial electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

From his fall 1965 US concert dates with The Band, to the recording and release of “Blonde on Blonde” and the writing of his first novel, “Tarantula,” to the raucous and defiant 1966 World Tour, “Thin Wild Mercury: Dylan 1966” features numerous never-before-seen manuscripts, photographs and newly restored film footage from the era.

"The year following Newport is one of the most visually and musically exciting periods of Dylan's long career," says Mark Davidson, exhibition curator and senior director of archives and exhibitions at American Song Archives. "With his wild hair, impenetrable sunglasses, and hip tailored suits, Dylan was unequaled in style and attitude. And yet, he bristled at being called a pop star, sparring with the press and audiences alike. It was Dylan and The Band against the world."

Along the way, visitors will experience Dylan’s emergence as a cool and at times combative rock star, rubbing shoulders with the likes of The Beatles, The Stones, Marlon Brando, Françoise Hardy and Andy Warhol, who captured Dylan in two iconic yet seldom-seen screen tests. Visitors will be able to make their own screen tests by way of an interactive Screen Test Machine, on loan from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.