Monmouth Museum presents ‘Woodstock at 50: Summer of Love’

By: Community Magazine | June 6, 2019 |  Entertainment , Local , Events |  Lincroft

The Monmouth Museum presents Woodstock at 50: Summer of Love, June 8 – September 1, 2019. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 pm, museum admission is $8. The Opening Reception will be Saturday, June 8th, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, Admission to the opening reception is free and open to the public.

Performing at the Opening will be Poppa John Bugg who played with Richie Havens.

Following the Opening Reception, June 8th at 8:00 pm, will be a Panel Discussion with 90.5 the Night Radio Station and some very well-known hippies: Elliott Landy, the official photographer of Woodstock; Sea Gudinski, Novelist who just released a work of historical fiction called 1969: A Brief and Beautiful Trip Back; Tommy Fuller One of the Jersey Shore’s most underrated musical gems, who went to the festival as a 23 year old, fresh out of the army;  and Brad Hunt Long time music industry executive and artist manager, who went to the festival as a 19 year old. For more information on the panel discussion or for tickets, on-line and at the door, wbjb.org/woodstock.

The Monmouth Museum’s Main Gallery summertime exhibition, Woodstock at 50: Summer of Love, will journey through the explosive era that gave life to the 1969 Woodstock Festival, the pivotal outdoor music and art fair held 50 years ago on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in the Catskill Mountains. It will feature 50 pieces of the renowned documentary and rock photography of the Official Woodstock Photographer, Elliott Landy. His images of Bob Dylan and The Band, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Van Morrison, and many others documented the music scene during the classic rock and roll period of 1967-1969. The exhibition will also feature vintage concert posters and vinyl albums, immersive video and audio experiences, 1960’s memorabilia and ephemera. All summer the Museum will offer art workshops for adults, teens and kids, tours and more.

There will be a Preview Party on Friday, June 7th from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm where you will meet Elliott Landy as he presents his Woodstock Vision. Get a first-hand account about the creators, builders, hippies, and straights that describes the spirituality, the trials and tribulations, and the sheer joy of being there! Performing that evening will be Edward Brennan and Joe LaFragola of the Glen Burnik Summer of Love Show and the band Styx.  Admission is $50 for Museum members, $65 for non-members, and Students $25. Tickets at monmouthmuseum.org.

Elliott Landy is one of the first music photographers to be recognized as an “artist.” Author of six photographic books, his images have been exhibited in major museums and galleries throughout the world. His photographs have appeared on the covers of major magazines such as Life, The Saturday Evening Post and Rolling Stone and in all media internationally for the past forty years.

Elliott Landy, born in 1942, began photographing the anti-Vietnam-war movement and the underground music culture in New York City in 1967. He photographed many of the underground rock and roll superstars, both backstage and onstage, from 1967 to 1969. His images of Bob Dylan and The Band, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Joan Baez, Van Morrison, Richie Havens, and many others documented the music scene during that classic rock and roll period which culminated with the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

Summer of Love was in June – August of 1967. Usually this description refers to 1967, in and around San Francisco when the “hippie movement” was in full flower. Particularly during the summer months, thousands upon thousands of young people flocked to the Haight-Ashbury to take part in a somewhat pale imitation of the true hippie experience. Many were drawn by the gentle lyrics of a song penned by John Phillips, member of The Mamas & the Papas. Phillips’ song San Francisco (written in anticipation of the Monterey Pop Festival in June) romanticizes the era and atmosphere. Scott McKenzie’s cover-version of the song was on the airwaves by May — just in time for summer vacation. “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair…If you come to San Francisco, Summertime will be a love-in there.”

1969 Woodstock Art and Music Fair was August 15 -17, 1969. Woodstock: Three Days of Peace, Music & Love. An estimated audience of over 400,000 people gather for three days of music near Bethel, NY, swarming across the pastures of Max Yasgur’s dairy farm. The festival is the brainchild of four men under age 26 (including one with a multimillion-dollar trust fund). Only 186,000 tickets are sold, so around 200,000 people are expected – but the amazing lineup of bands and musicians draws many more. Fences are pushed over and tickets become pointless. On opening night, sponsors declare free admission to all, and the word spreads like wildfire. Police estimate a million more people trying to reach Woodstock are stuck in traffic jams up to 50 miles away. In rain and mud, thousands listen to Janis Joplin, The Who, Canned Heat, the Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, and Country Joe & The Fish. On the last morning, guitarist Jimi Hendrix wakes the crowd with a riveting solo version of the national anthem. The final cost is $2.4 million. A film of the concert is released the following year.

All summer, from June 7 – September 1, 2019, there will be a raffle for a Martin DX Woodstock 50th Anniversary Guitar, donated by Russo Music. This model includes colorful custom artwork by Robert F. Goetzl that replicates elements from the original, famed 1969 festival poster. This X Series D-14 model produces the rich, dynamic sound and look that made Martin the choice of many artists who played at Woodstock. Chances are only $10 each.

Exhibition Partners for the Woodstock at 50: Summer of Love exhibition include: Red Bank FrameWorks; Brookdale Community College – History, and Library departments; 90.5 the Night; Jack’s Music Shoppe; Russo Music; Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth; Vintage Variety Shop; Classic Metal Productions; Tracy Walter Ferry, artist and filmmaker.

The Monmouth Museum, an independent, non-profit organization was founded in 1963 as a Museum of Ideas, presents changing art, history and science exhibitions to educate and entertain while providing a destination for creative expression and life-long learning to the diverse community it serves.

The Monmouth Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm; Sunday, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Admission is $8. The Museum is located at 1 Museum Drive, Lincroft, NJ on the campus of Brookdale Community College, Parking lot #1.

For more information about the Museum exhibitions and programs visit their website at www.monmouthmuseum.org or call 732-747-2266.