Woodstock
3 Days of Peace & Music.
That’s what the poster promised and in one of the best examples ever of truth in advertising that is exactly what customers got. Of course, they were not all technically customers, given that far more than half of the attendees were allowed in for free…
Forty years in, Woodstock is much more than just the coolest rock festival ever. To many, Woodstock represents the peak of the idealism and spirit of cooperation embraced by many young people around the world throughout the 1960s. To others, it was the jumpstart to careers in filmmaking, photography, concert production and most importantly, music making.
Certainly one of the most memorable artifacts to come from the original Woodtsock festival is Arnold Skolnick’s poster, featuring the famous dove perched on the neck of a guitar (originally a catbird on a flute, according to Skolnick).
Commissioned, designed and delivered in little more than a long weekend, Skolnick’s poster has had an afterlife as enduring as the festival and the music itself. Original prints of the poster have sold for four and five figures, while the number of reproductions and prints must surely number in the millions. After forty years, peace, music and Woodstock all endure.
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