Exhibition Artist Talk: Woodstock '94

30th Anniversary Celebration Nancy Donskoj Woodstock '94 Photographs

I missed the original Woodstock music festival, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to go to Woodstock '94 and document the event. I arrived early on Sunday, the festival's last day, and stayed until the end. The day before, rain had turned Winston Farm into a sea of mud and because of that service vehicles could not enter the site, causing the garbage to overflow. I found discarded food containers, plastic bottles, and Woodstock pizza boxes scattered everywhere. But the amazing thing was no one seemed to mind and they appeared to embrace it. I walked for hours, with my shoes encrusted in mud, taking pictures with my camera, meeting people, and listening to the music. I realize now that I witnessed an event that cannot be replicated again here in the digital age. It was a long day and after shooting many rolls of film, I returned to my home in Kingston NY never bringing these photos to the light of day - until now.

About the Artist

Nancy Donskoj began her love of photography when she bought her first camera in 1972. While living in Massachusetts she took courses in photography at UMass and Hampshire College. When she moved to Manhattan, she continued her studies at the International Center for Photography and the Fashion Institute of Technology, all while working various jobs in the photography industry from PR photography to catalog work to commercial color printing. When she moved to the Hudson Valley in the early 80's she established her own commercial photography business while also running an art gallery in Kingston NY. She recently retired from her photography business devoting more time to her own work. Attracted to the symmetry in nature and urban decay she continues to explore the world around her with her singular vision to present both the beautiful and the absurd.