Herb Summers, an art student at the University of Miami back in 1969, preserved the designs for his fantastical Woodstock installations in his sketchbook (bethelwoodscenter.org)
Bethel, NY. As stewards of the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y., continues to discover and develop the sacred grounds to preserve their integrity. To advance the public interpretation of the historic landscape, The Museum at Bethel Woods has selected its first-ever Landscape Preservation Fellow, Eleanor Hein, who joined on Feb. 1.
Hein will assist senior curator Dr. Neal Hitch in creating planning documents, drawings, and reports. “The Museum at Bethel Woods has a direct attachment to its location and its history, which is exciting for me as an opportunity to experience the legacies of the Woodstock festival from both museum and archaeological perspectives,” said Hein.
Hein will emphasize a key element of the festival: having artwork permeate throughout the landscape. She will focus on “The Teepee,” a large timber structure supporting a boulder suspended by ropes, one of six installations completed at the original festival by students University of Miami students led by Professor Bill Ward, labeled the “art crew. These structures aimed to highlight the natural environment they existed in. Today, the installation is marked by stone paving with the boulder still intact.
The Fellowship is designed as one year expandable to two, pending the availability of funding . The 2021-22 Fellowship is funded by the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor Foundation and through in-kind support by Bethel Woods. A campaign to raise funds for the Fellowship is ongoing.
Bethel Woods expects to reopen in the spring. “Lights, Color, Fashion: Psychedelic Posters and Patterns of 1960s San Francisco,” is scheduled to open Saturday, April 3.
For more information, visit bethelwoodscenter.org or call 845-583-2184.