This Is What You Get: Radiohead and Donwood’s visual art to show at the Ashmolean in 2025

by

As a gamer who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, I can confidently say that this exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum is a dream come true! I remember staying up late to listen to Radiohead’s albums, marveling at the mind-bending visuals created by Stanley Donwood.

An extraordinary event commemorating Radiohead’s visual art and their frontman Thom Yorke is about to debut at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. Dubbed This Is What You Get, this multimedia extravaganza will unfold from August 8, 2025, until January 11, 2026. Visitors can expect a comprehensive journey into the artistic bond shared by Yorke and artist Stanley Donwood, originally known as Dan Rickwood.

The showcase, which is scheduled to take place, will showcase approximately 120 items, encompassing album covers, promotional artwork, unseen personal artifacts like sketchbooks and notebooks. It’s been mentioned that this Radiohead exhibition aims to delve into the intricate bond between visual art and music. This display represents the initial extensive institutional showcasing of their work, emphasizing the unique blend of music and visual art that has become synonymous with Radiohead since the 1990s.

Radiohead, a highly influential alternative rock band that originated from Abingdon School in Oxfordshire back in 1985, is one of the greatest bands out there. With hit songs like “Creep,” “Paranoid Android,” “High and Dry,” “My Iron Lung,” and “No Surprises” dominating charts worldwide, they’ve earned international recognition not only for their unique musical style but also for their thought-provoking visual narratives. Many of these distinctive visual elements were shaped by Donwood, who started working with Yorke during their college days at the University of Exeter.

Donwood expressed that it seems like only yesterday when we were brainstorming about an album cover in HMV, Oxford, and now we’re setting up a museum exhibition almost in the same spot… Our collaboration commenced with the cover art for Radiohead’s second album, The Bends (1995), and has persisted through every album since.

More on the link between Radiohead and the artist

As a devoted admirer, I can’t help but be captivated by the exhibition title, “This Is What You Get,” which echoes the lyrics from Radiohead’s iconic track, “Karma Police.” This title beautifully encapsulates the intricate blend of music and visual artistry that Radiohead masterfully weaves in their work.

As a devoted admirer, I’m excited to share that the Ashmolean Museum, nestled in the prestigious University of Oxford, invites us on a journey. This journey delves into the deep-rooted relationship between visual art and sound, as showcased in their current exhibition. For fellow Radiohead enthusiasts like myself, this exhibit serves as an intriguing path to uncover the emotional undertones and themes that shaped the striking visuals of masterpieces such as “OK Computer” and “Kid A.

In his own words, Donwood’s creative process is frequently influenced by vivid, dreamlike, and cataclysmic imagery that reflects the emotional terrain of the music. For a clearer grasp of surrealism, André Breton explained it in the “Surrealist Manifesto” as a form of pure mental automatism, expressing genuine thought without any control from reason or aesthetic or moral considerations.

Visiting This Is What You Get is highly recommended for fans of Radiohead, art aficionados, and those intrigued by the blend of music and visual art.

Read More

2024-11-28 04:01