1969, Arnold Skolnik, 3 Days of Peace & Music
International Poster Gallery 205 Newbury Street, Boston MA (US).
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Woodstock Festival. Meet Arnold Skolnick, designer of the festival's iconic 1969 poster. Learn the story behind the poster that rocked a generation. Enjoy the original 1969 poster and Mr. Skolnick's newly designed limited edition 40th anniversary poster. Both are available for purchase and signing in the gallery.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
5:00pm - 7:30pm
Featuring a talk by Mr. Skolnick at 6:00pm
Free and open to the public
The Poster that Rocked a Generation
Last year, the gallery acquired a cache of original Woodstock posters. These authentic 1969 posters will be available for signing by Mr. Skolnick at the event.
The artist has also created a beautifully printed silkscreen especially for this event, printed in a limited edition of 285 signed and numbered posters. The 40th anniversary poster is offered at the event for $200 and thereafter for $300.
Skolnick's Woodstock poster played an essential role in the success of the largest rock festival of the '60s, an event that was as famous for its freedom from violence as it was for its unparalleled musical line-up. The poster perfectly expressed in one symbol - a dove perched on a guitar - what Woodstock was about. Despite the need for lengthy text, the poster was graphically succinct and struck an enduring chord with a generation and indeed the world.
The original poster was no accident. Skolnick was a talented Madison Avenue ad man and was skilled at hearing what a customer wanted and needed. Mr. Skolnick recalls, "The client said he wanted the event to be 'peaceful, three days long and a lot of music' so that's what I gave him."
His design was the perfect solution to a licensing problem that required the festival to be relocated at the last moment from Walkill to Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. The psychedelic tone of the aborted venue's initial poster was replaced by a more subdued and peaceful message so the event would not be banned again-- thus creating a unique rock poster for the ages.
Little did we know last year that finding some original Woodstock posters would lead to one of the most exciting events anywhere for the 40th Anniversary Woodstock celebration.
This poster played an essential role in the success of the largest rock concert of the Sixties, an event that was as famous for its freedom from violence as it was for its remarkable musical line-up. It perfectly expressed in one symbol - a dove on a guitar - what Woodstock was about. Despite the need for lengthy text, the poster was as graphically succinct as any poster by Cappiello.
And that text is a treasure trove of juicy memorabilia - the $18 3-day ticket price, the list of performers from Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, The Band, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joan Baez and many others, as well as "dozens of curious food and fruit combinations to experiment with." Imagine if the organizers had allowed the Beatles to perform (they rejected John Lennon's condition that Yoko Ono's band be invited as well) and had Bob Dylan not backed out because of his sick son!
This is actually the second "official" Woodstock poster. It was created due to a licensing problem that required the concert to be relocated at the last moment from Walkill to Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. The psychedelic and countercultural tone of the first poster was replaced by a more subdued and peaceful message so the event would not be banned again-- thus creating a unique rock poster for the ages.