On the heels of relaunching its website (have you noticed the background changes from white to black according to the New York City sunset?), the Whitney Museum of American Art has announced two curatorial appointments. The whipsmart and charming Scott Rothkopf will join the museum on December 1 as curator, while Dana Miller has been promoted to curator of the permanent collection. Miller, who co-curated last year's stellar Buckminster Fuller exhibition, has been the Whitney's associate curator of the permanent collection for the past seven years.

Rothkopf comes to the Whitney from Artforum, where he has served as senior editor since 2004. Don't miss his "Best of 2009" picks in the magazine's December issue. Among Charles Ray, MoMA's Joan Miró exhibition, and the collected writings of Herbert Muschamp is a shout-out to Aretha Franklin's bowtastic inauguration hat, designed by Detroit milliner Luke Song. "Although it threatened to overshadow her face (and everyone else on the dais), Aretha's exuberant headgear is the enduring emblem of a high point in our nation's optimism and pride," notes Rothkopf.