this is what you get

The Exhibit includes every bit of collaboration between Stanley and Thom. Entitled "This Is What You Get" (a Radiohead lyric), it gathers all the works they did together from 1994 to present, including Radiohead album covers and related artwork: paintings, drawings, notebooks, even videos. The exhibit makes a point of saying that all artworks in the exhibit were created jointly by Stanley and Thom. (Thom was previously assumed to have been less involved.)

The exhibit contains quite a bit of ephemera, not limited to Stanley's and Thom's journals from each era, but even art and craft supplies that they used. Here are some photos from The Bends section of the exhibit. (In each section, I will focus on displays and rarities less familiar than strictly the album covers.)

The Record Shop is the second section of the museum, an interlude between their first two album collaborations, and is designed to put the artwork into context. After all, the major works were originally intended as record covers and t-shirts, where the art would have been seen in record shops all over the world.

OK Computer was arguably Radiohead's breakthrough record, though they were successful even before. This record was genre-defining, and the artwork associated with it was also unconventional. The journal pages featured throughout the exhibit are primarily by Thom, and involve music notes, song lyrics, and random bits of writing.

Kid A/Amnesiac artwork was characterized by Stanley and Thom sending faxes back and forth. This section of the exhibit even included a hand-made mockup of a CD booklet. The paintings are some of the largest the pair ever made.

The Hail To The Thief area included Stanley's actual palette and brushes... a fan's delight to see!

In Rainbows is one of Stanley's more serendipitous artworks, the basis which was an accident involving spilled wax. The signs along the exhibit, and especially the audio commentary, give rare insight into how each era's artwork was created.

The Eraser is particularly impressive to me, involving a multitude of painstakingly desinged linocuts. Stanley has used the technique many times since The Eraser.

The King Of Limbs had these paintings and also there was a promotional newspaper produced at the time, The Universal Sigh.

Kid A Mnesia Exhibition was in the next room. They were showing clips from the video "game" put out during the pandemic, which was originally intended to be an in-person art exhibit.

Tomorrow's Modern Boxes was Thom's second solo album, which was bleak and made at a very difficult time for Thom.

A Moon Shaped Pool was Radiohead's most recent album (though 9 years old).

Anima was Thom's next solo album. I enjoyed seeing the actual layers of tracing paper Stanley and Thom used to create some of the album artwork.

The Smile is a side project with 2 of Radiohead's members, led by Thom. These paintings mark a departure from the medium of acrylic: Stanley and Thom started using tempera and gouache. There's even a huge tapestry with their artwork hanging in the museum.

Something I really enjoyed, which I'm sure some museum-goers did not notice, were 2 replica journals featuring Stanley and Thom's art, writings, and even merchandise ideas. It gives even more insight into their creative process. Here is where I got to see more of my favorite Stanley characters, neither the minotaurs nor the bears: Bisch and Bosch. I was long drawn to these odd creatures, not the least because I love the art of Hieronymous Bosch and was intrigued about Stanley being inspired by them to create some rather cross cartoon characters. Alas, he did not go very far with this idea. You can find the semi-hidden journals next to the benches in two of the rooms.

The exhibit came to an end, but Stanley and Thom's artistic collaboration lives on!

The gift shop was full of postcards, t-shirts, magnets, drinking vessels, accessories, and art supplies. I spent too much there... Also, there is an actual 1800s printing press that is operated at times. Sadly, it was not being demonstrated that day.

The day was already a success. I had seen my favorite artist's work in person for the first time, other than the prints I own. I never traveled to England for a gallery opening of Stanley's... I couldn't justify the cost... but a career retrospective exhibit at a major art museum and an in-person talk by Stanley were enough to draw me there today. The talk was fascinating, yet more insight into especially Stanley's side of the collaboration and his artwork in general. I even got selected to ask a question! (If you heard the livestream, my question was the one about his fondness for drawing minotaurs and bears.)

Here is where things get beyond a dream. I had previously contacted James, the proprietor of Tin Man Art, which is Stanley's representative art gallery, in hopes of finding out if it would even be possible to meet Stanley that night. I identified James after the event, and the plan was for Stanley and his colleagues to migrate over to The Depot, a small art event featuring artists from several local galleries. Naturally, Stanley and Thom had art for sale there. James invited me to walk over with them (I was afraid of getting lost walking in Oxford, as I had been Ubering everywhere.) Stanley was quite impressed to learn that I had traveled from the States just to see his exhibit and hear him speak. I told him my favorite print of his I own is Insane Minotaur, followed by Fuck It (the original one, not the more colorful one made years later). Stanley recalled that Kate Moss famously owns a copy of Fuck It. I recalled that it was once featured in a style section of Vogue magazine. Stanley dodged into a pub for a while, but once he showed up at Depot, he signed autographs (mostly of the exhibit catalog). I got a photo with him, and got a dedicated autograph on my first edition copy of Slowly Downward (Stanley is also a talented, celebrated writer focusing on dark humor). I also got a postcard of Stanley's most recognized minotaur signed (no postcards of Bisch and Bosch were for sale in the gift shop!). After the formal part of giving autographs, Stanley hung around the Tin Man area of the event and I got to take his portrait on my film camera (which I said I wouldn't post... he seemed a bit shy perhaps, and he is previously known for being a bit reclusive) and we sympathized with each other on the shifts in US and UK politics. I never imagined I'd be drinking wine with Stanley Donwood and lamenting politics! I couldn't afford anything in this exhibit (drawings were around £10,000 and paintings were around £25,000!). I took my leave, but only after saying good night to Stanley, James, Natasha (the curator of the Ashmolean exhibit, who had facilitated the conversation with Stanley), and a lovely Frenchman who has collaborated with Stanley before. Interestingly, everyone I met asked if I had gotten Radiohead tickets for the European shows... alas, I was not even selected in the lottery. The others were in the same boat. Oh well! All in all, it was an unforgettable day and even more unforgettable night.

Below are some bonus sections... my visit the evening before to a Radiohead landmark, my favorite Stanley art pieces you might not have seen before, my own Stanley collection, and a few shapshots of a brief tour of central Oxford I was able to squeeze in between the exhibit and the talk! First up, something related to Radiohead in Oxford... The Jericho is a tavern where Radiohead performed their first show, back when they were known as On A Friday.

Here are some other of my Stanley Donwood favorites that aren't in my collection (see below).

My Stanley Dowood collection, which I lovingly consider an unofficial museum.

And finally, for those interested, the setting of this whole adventure: Oxford. The Ashmolean is a major landmark in the city. The fact that it devoted a huge exhibit to the artwork of Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke is a major achievement for both artists and something to be celebrated by their fans. I wholeheartedly recommend visiting the exhibit if you can!