Former Associate Director of ISP at Whitney, Breaks Silence; Dinosaur Fossils Up for Auction; Thom Yorke Debuts Artwork - August 6, 2025 Headlines
=====================================================================================================
In the world of art and music, this week has been a whirlwind of events. Let's delve into some of the most intriguing developments.
Thom Yorke, Radiohead's frontman, is making a visual art comeback with his first institutional show, "This is What You Get," at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. The exhibition spans 30 years of collaborative work with Stanley Donwood, showcasing Radiohead's record covers, sketchbooks, and recent paintings by the duo [The Art Newspaper]. Donwood described the show as, "this is what you get when you have two ex-art students making record sleeves for 30 years."
Meanwhile, the Whitney Museum is embroiled in controversy. Sara Nadal-Melsio, the Associate Director of the Whitney's Independent Study Program (ISP), was terminated in June. The ISP was subsequently suspended, with the museum's director, Scott Rothkopf, announcing his "suspension" to a select number of its alumni. Nadal-Melsio has spoken out about her termination and the cancellation of the ISP, suggesting internal conflicts or disagreements within the museum [1][2][3][4]. The suspension of the ISP, a 50-year-old program, is seen as the culmination of months of the museum's combined disregard and scrutiny of the program.
Nadal-Melsio's experience at the Whitney taught her about decimated workers' rights, corporate culture of Non-Disclosure Agreements, recalcitrant misogyny, scapegoating, systemic racisms, and tokenism. She described the actions as "yet another blunt refusal to engage in dialogue."
On the global stage, the Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic World Rebirth is powering through the box office, while a 154-59 million-year-old megafauna fossil recently sold for $30.5 million at Sotheby's New York, demonstrating the allure of dinosaurs, ancient yet timeless.
In other news, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina has accused Israel of "genocide" and will donate profits from a Haggadah publication sale to Palestinian causes [The Times of Israel]. The Ashmolean Museum exhibition, "This is What You Get," charts the evolution of Radiohead's record covers and showcases previously unpublished sketchbooks and recent paintings by Yorke and Donwood [The Art Newspaper].
Furthermore, the UK government is offering special tours of No.10 Downing Street's art collection as part of the Open House festival [The Art Newspaper]. The next edition of Manifesta will take place in Coimbra, Portugal, in 2028. And finally, twelve art collectors have shared their "biggest rookie mistakes" to help aspiring collectors avoid the same pitfalls [Cultured].
As always, the world of art and music continues to evolve, with surprises and controversies around every corner.
References:
- The Art Newspaper
- Hyperallergic
- Artforum
- ARTnews
- The curator of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, in collaboration with Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood, is preparing for an upcoming exhibition, "This is What You Get," showcasing the artists' work over the past 30 years, including paintings, record covers, and sketchbooks.
- A collector of art and music might find the UK government's offer of special tours of No.10 Downing Street's art collection as part of the Open House festival an intriguing entertainment opportunity, especially for those looking for unique art experiences.
- Amid the bustling world of art, a museum collector could learn from the twelve art collectors who recently shared their "biggest rookie mistakes" to help avoid similar pitfalls in building an art collection.
- At the Whitney Museum, the controversy surrounding the termination of Sara Nadal-Melsio and the subsequent suspension of the Independent Study Program has laid bare the challenges and issues faced by workers in the art world, including decimated workers' rights and systemic racisms.
- The art world intertwines with other spheres such as music, as the eventful week also saw Radiohead's frontman, Thom Yorke, returning to visual art with an institutional show, while the Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic World: Rebirth dominated the box office, and a 154-59 million-year-old megafauna fossil fetched a remarkable sum at a Sotheby's auction, demonstrating the shared allure of art, music, and ancient fossils.
