The original Woodstock poster is undeniably one of the most famous pieces of music art in the world. The legendary image of the dove perched on the neck of a guitar has become one of the defining works of art of the entire Woodstock Nation — reproduced millions of times, selling on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs, instantly recognizable anywhere on the planet more than five decades after it was created.
WoodstockStory.com got the privilege of speaking with creator Arnold Skolnick and getting some insight into the artist and the legendary work. A recent article in the Woodstock Times had raised some interesting points — and a pointed question — about the ownership of the iconic image.
Skolnick was contracted by Woodstock Ventures to create the visual representation of the 1969 festival. The brief was deceptively simple: a poster for a music and art fair lasting three days, one that was to be peaceful. His design philosophy — "the solution is the problem" — guided his approach. He was given the problem on a Thursday. He delivered the solution on Monday at about 11 a.m.
The Woodstock Times article had raised a controversy: in Michael Lang's book The Road to Woodstock, Lang claims the idea for the poster design as his own. Skolnick's response was direct and unambiguous:
They asked for a poster for a music and art fair which would last for 3 days and wanted it to be peaceful. I was given the problem on a Thursday and I delivered it on Monday at about 11am. Mr. Lang never gave me any idea for the poster — he never saw it until it was finished. I don't believe he and I have ever talked.
— Arnold Skolnick
Many accounts of the piece have cited Skolnick's two sons — or even a daughter who does not exist — as the inspiration for the dove and guitar image. Skolnick has consistently stated this is not the case. The design came from his own creative process, from his philosophy that the solution lives within the problem itself.
After the Woodstock poster, Skolnick started a print company that produced and published art books and limited editions in the late 1970s — many of which won awards for design and typography. He does not define his career as that of "the guy who designed the Woodstock poster." He is a working artist with a full body of work.
Despite the rampant replication of his original catbird/dove design perched on the guitar neck, Skolnick has received remarkably little in return. He has received exactly one check for royalties for the image — amounting to approximately $15. He continues to run Chameleon Books and works on his paintings, photography, and drawings, holding various exhibitions in New York and Massachusetts.
He is thankful that his work set the right tone for the festival — but unsentimental about its cultural afterlife:
The Woodstock poster has not changed my life or had any real effect on my career. It was just another design solution that became famous.
— Arnold Skolnick
At the time of this interview, Skolnick — a resident of Chesterfield, Massachusetts — had recently completed his design for the Woodstock 40th anniversary poster. A design solution for a new generation, by the man who gave the original one its most enduring image.