Painting by James Ensor
Lyric by Bob Dylan

The Superhuman Crew brings together two visionary works of art—James Ensor's masterpiece painting Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 and Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row." The result is a riveting visual and verbal experience. Ensor's huge, vibrant, and startling canvas presents a scene filled with clowns, masked figures, and—barely visible amid the swirling crowds—the tiny figure of Christ on a donkey entering the city of Brussels. Desolation Row, from Dylan's classic 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited, presents its own surreal portrait of modern life in strangely similar terms. These two vast works share a vision of the contemporary world as anarchic, grotesque, and absurd, and The Superhuman Crew combines them in a surprising, thought-provoking format.

This book includes a complete reproduction and numerous details of Ensor's painting, the full text of Dylan's lyrics to Desolation Row, and a compact disc with his recording of the song.

"A thoughtful and quirky culmination of art forms that belongs in the hands of Dylan fans, Ensor enthusiasts, and anyone intrigued by the alchemy that takes place when you marry one bold art work with another."
—Gadfly

"Stunning and unusual."
—Easy Reader    

"A handsome and attractive piece of book-making."
—Series of Dreams

"A compelling mix."
—On the Tracks

Getty Publications
Imprint: J. Paul Getty Museum   

1999