WOODSTOCK PHOTO EXHIBIT KICKS OFF SUMMER-LONG FESTIVAL AT NYS MUSEUM ALBANY, NY - -- Spirit of the Woodstock Generation: The Photographs of Elliott Landy opens June 19th at the New York State Museum as part of a summer-long festival at the Museum featuring a Woodstock concert series and special programs, commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The exhibition, in the Museum's Crossroads Gallery through September 6th, will present more than 50 original photographs taken by Elliott Landy, official photographer of the Woodstock Festival. Striving to raise the awareness of Americans about the anti-war movement, Landy began photographing demonstrations against the Vietnam War in 1967 while working for underground newspapers in New York City. He felt a profound connection to the music of this era and his growing reputation as a photographer gave him intimate access to some of the most important musicians of that time. The exhibition includes photographs of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Band, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker, Frank Zappa, Eric Clapton, Jim Morrison and others, along with images of the peace demonstrations. The exhibition will be enhanced by dozens of objects from the Museum's own collections, while others were obtained from key personalities of the Woodstock Festival and from the public. Many items were offered after the Museum invited the community to loan Woodstock memorabilia for the exhibition. Objects on display will include such items as festival tickets, a program, poster and clothing worn at the festival, including a jacket and hat seen on the cover of Life magazine. There also will be objects from the private collection of Michael Lang, an organizer of the 1969 festival, such as the motorcycle Lang rode in an iconic scene from the movie "Woodstock." In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum also will host a series of concerts, beginning in June, featuring musicians who performed on the 1969 Woodstock stage including Melanie, John Sebastian, Country Joe and former members of the Fish. A panel discussion on Thursday, August 12th - "Woodstock: The Music, the People and the Times," will feature Landy and Joel Rosenman, who financed the 1969 festival along with the late John Roberts. They and other panelists will give perspective to this pivotal event in American history. The moderator will be Parry Teasdale, the editor of the The Independent in Hinsdale, N.Y. who documented the original Woodstock festival using what was then revolutionary portable television technology. The Museum plans other programming throughout the summer including a karaoke night, craft activities and a free tie-dye workshop on Saturday, August 10th. Registration for the workshop is required by July 8 and may be made by calling (518) 473-7154. Participants must bring a white or light-colored tee shirt. To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the public is invited to attend "A Taste of New York" reception featuring foods and beverages from around New York State on Tuesday, June 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. Special guests of the evening will include Melanie, who will perform some of her songs, Landy, and all of the surviving organizers of the 1969 festival - Artie Kornfeld, Rosenman and Lang. The Woodstock exhibition has been made possible by Baum Image Group, Inc. of Valley Cottage, N.Y., with support from the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which owns the original Woodstock Festival site in Bethel, N.Y. The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation's longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at [color=#800080]www.nysm.nysed.gov[/color]. The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at [color=#800080]www.nysm.nysed.gov[/color].
