Stuck Inside the MGM: Bob Dylan Creates Iron Archway for New Casino

Dylan at work on Portal.

HERITAGE COLLECTION AT MGM NATIONAL HARBOR

At age 75, Bob Dylan continues to confuse and delight. The New York Times reports that the musician’s most recent project is Portal, a 26-by-15-foot iron archway, created for the MGM National Harbor casino, which opens this year in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

According to an announcement from the casino, the piece uses scrap metal and found objects including children’s toys, cogs, axes and wheels. Dylan made his public debut as an iron worker in 2013, at a show staged by Halcyon Gallery in London. In recent years, he has also showed drawings and paintings at Gagosian Gallery in New York.

The Times reports that Dylan had the following to say about the archway: “I’ve been around iron all my life ever since I was a kid . . . Gates appeal to me because of the negative space they allow. They can be closed, but at the same time they allow the seasons and breezes to enter and flow. They can shut you out or shut you in. And in some ways, there is no difference.”