Laurence Miller Gallery joins the nationwide celebration of Woodstock’s 40^th birthday with an exhibition of photographs by Burk Uzzle, the foremost photographer of arguably the most peaceful assemblage of over 300,000 persons ever. Approximately 25 vintage, modern and color prints from the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, as it originally was promoted, will be shown.

Burk Uzzle shot the festival from the vantage point of a participant. In one particularly telling photograph, a sea of humanity as dense as a carpet of wildflowers in a meadow spills over a hillside; in another, a young hippie couple standing in a tender embrace under a grandmother’s quilt became the icon of a generation. Rather than document the music, Uzzle chose to focus on details of living, existence, and enjoyment over that three day period. In so doing, he captured the spirit of the festival and ultimately an era. 

It has been 40 years since the peace and love generation descended in a greater mass than ever imagined on Yasgur’s farm in upstate Bethel, New York. The original festival ballooned to way more folks than the sleepy towns of Middletown or Woodstock could accommodate, so Max Yasgur very generously gave his hillside over to the organizers in what would become surely the most celebrated festival of its kind. At its conclusion, Woodstock became recognized as one of the most significant events in the history of rock music, but its effect was even grander. In an America rife with racial tension and at war in Vietnam, Woodstock defined the culture of a generation, a message of hope for a brighter and more peaceful future.

Video: Watch Burk Uzzle as he discusses his Woodstock experiences on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams