The American singer-songwriter and folk musician Bob Dylan describes in his autobiography, as well as in his life and music in general, the ambiguity of popular songs and their ability to be openly shared, interpreted and even fabricated, and believes that human nature is such that we are more comfortable with this opacity. African American artist Kara Walker's work reinforces this belief and applies it to history with the exploration of cultural ideas regarding race, sexuality, identity, gender roles, repression, and violence. they are evasive: the truth about life, and life is more or less a lie, but then that's exactly how we want it to be. We wouldn't feel comfortable any other way.” He goes on to also confirm the ambiguity of folk music, saying that “[a] folk song has more than a thousand faces and you have to meet them all if you want to play this stuff. A popular song may vary in meaning and may not sound the same from one moment to the next. It depends on who plays and who listens” (71). One of the characteristics that Bob Dylan possesses, which helped him become such a successful folk artist, is his ability to recognize this ambiguity. His ears were and still are immune to the literalness of time, and after hearing something new, he can apply what he doesn't know to his hearing, instead of limiting his interpretation to the knowledge he already has. This is the basis of what folk music taught Dylan in some of his most formative years, which was that "[i]f you told the truth, that was all well and good and if you told the untrue, well, that's still fine." and "good" (35). Even ancient folk legends are unclear in their origin and reality, such as the broad... middle of paper ......we immerse ourselves in the altered consciousness of reality that Dylan found in the songs, what "Greil Marcus, that the music historian, some thirty years later, would call…'the invisible republic'” (Dylan 34), we must close our eyes to the truths that cause trauma and open them to this invisibility, and we can find in our comfort a people new. legend to listen to. Works Cited Dylan, Bob. Chronicles: Volume One. Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print. Johnson, Emma. "Review: Darkytown Rebellion by Kara Walker." /Artist/Musician. 7 January 2010. Web. 04 December 2011. .Simblist, Noah. "Kara Walker by Noah Simblist: a contemporary art journal. ART LIES. December 4th. 2011. .