WOODSTOCK VISION: THE SPIRIT OF A GENERATION
Photographs by Elliott Landy
July 3 – August 15, 2021
Book signing and opening: Saturday, July 3, 2-4pm
The Center for Photography at Woodstock is pleased to announce the exhibition Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation, featuring photographs by Elliott Landy, official photographer of the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. With the streets of Woodstock once again full of life, we want to take this moment to celebrate the spirit of music, freedom, and art that’s woven itself into the town’s history.
Guest curated by Charles Guice, this exhibition features Landy’s iconic photographs from the festival, which swelled from the anticipated 50,000 concertgoers to a record-setting 450,000, took place in Bethel, NY, on August 15-18, 1969, and drew iconic performers including Joan Baez, Richie Havens, the Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and The Band. Shooting 76 rolls of film, Landy captured the festival from the empty fields as the stage was being built to the unforgettable cultural spectacle that still remains unmatched in its societal resonance and impact.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Best known for his iconic rock photographs from the 1960s, Elliott Landy was one of the first music photographers to be recognized as an “artist.” His work has included portraits and album covers of Bob Dylan (Nashville Skyline), The Band (Music From Big Pink and The Band), Janis Joplin (Big Brother & The Holding Company and Cheap Thrills), Van Morrison (Moondance), as well as celebrated images of Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Richie Havens, and many other legendary bands, singers, and musicians. Landy’s photographs of Dylan and The Band during the years they resided and recorded in Woodstock, and his coverage of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, which he served as the festival’s official photographer, captured the attention of a new culture seeking spiritual and artistic freedom. Fifty years later, Landy’s seminal images have become synonymous with the town, the famed festival, and the utopian spirit of the Woodstock generation.
Since the 1960s, Elliott Landy’s photographs have been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad, including the Whitney Museum, the Tate Liverpool, and the Norton Museum of Art. His work has been published in countless American as well as international magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, Le Monde, Rolling Stone, Life, Vanity Fair, and the Saturday Evening Post. Landy is the author of eight books including Woodstock 1969: The First Festival, Dylan in Woodstock, and Woodstock Vision: The Spirit of a Generation. His latest monograph, The Band Photographs: 1968-1969, was published in 2015.
A native of New York, Landy was born in 1942. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and earned his degree from Baruch College. Represented worldwide by Magnum Photos, Getty, and several additional photo agencies, Landy lives in Woodstock with his wife, Lynda. https://elliottlandy.com/
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Over fifty years ago, on August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair opened on a 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York. Advertised as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music,” the now iconic rock festival featured thirty-two performers — including Joan Baez, Richie Havens, the Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and The Band — who have gone on to become some of the most celebrated artists in American music history. Originally estimated for 50,000, despite large crowds, torrential rainstorms, and muddy fields, the festival eventually swelled to more than 450,000 people, an event that has become synonymous with the 60s counterculture movement.
Image information: Richie Havens, Woodstock Festival, Bethel, NY, 1969.
All photos by ©Elliott Landy. None of Elliott Landy’s photographs are in the public domain. Please contact Elliott Landy Vision, Inc. for permission to reproduce any of the images.