For the Love of Rod

To help clench his victory in the 2002 Illinois gubernatorial election, Rod Blagojevich vowed to eliminate the sort of political corruption that has plagued his state’s government for years. Jump to Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 and Gov. Rob Blagojevich (D) is now being arrested for, among other things, attempting to sell Barrack Obama’s open senate seat to the highest bidder. David of the Chicago, IL indie-pop band Bird Names wrote an album for and about the now infamous governor entitled “For The Love of Rod” and has made it available to the public.

It’s probably best if we let David explain the project:

“In may 2005 I quit my job working at a hotel and immediately wrote a short album about and for the Illinois state governor, Rod Blagojevich. Inside three days I completed the album (with help from Naomi of Bird Names) and mailed it to him with a letter.

The letter explained that I understood that we (Rod and I) had a complicated relationship but that he (Rod) did not know this (since he was busy with other stuff) and so I would sing our relationship to him. I was pretty amped to get the music to him as fast as possible, that he should know disturbingly quickly such inspiration as he made in me.

The letter explained each song to him (especially the closing “The Great Rod Inside,” which talks about him being governor of heaven someday, because I didn’t want to get arrested or put on some list) and the music, if crude and novel, was sentimental and extremely sympathetic.

I received no response.

Today Rod was arrested for a list of things that an evil cartoon governor would do (i.e., trying to sell Obama’s senate seat). Blagojevich has been a man of rich mythic textuality. I knew little about him then except (mostly) for this weird resonance that i think people can still really feel.

I want to give to you today this album, For the Love of Rod. I’m not proud of it musically, but I think we would all do well to remember the man and governor he was once imagined to be.”

Rods Theme

Ride Rod Ride

We Toast the Govs Hair

Sadie Hawkins Dance

Rod at Leisure

The Great Rod Inside

posted by: Harold Johns III

Time Lapse “Change” Painting of Obama

Jordan Tarrant creates graffiti-inspired murals, portraits and other pieces of fine art. See more of his work here.

posted by: Harold Johns III

Bestiary Recap

“A bestiary is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks” (Wikipedia).

The Rathaus attended the Bestiary show on Saturday, December 6th and saw just that: animals and birds in all different forms. The show, which was held at the 6 Gallery in Lawrence, KS, featured new works from Andrew Hadle, Glen Mies, and Christa Dalien. Although centered within the Bestiary theme each artist used their own mediums and interpretations to create a broad range of work. If you are in the area the show will run through February 1st with a gallery talk held this Saturday, December 13th at 4pm.

Camel by: Andrew Hadle – colored pencil

Camel by: Andrew Hadle – colored pencil

Aardvark by: Andrew Hadle – colored pencil

Wendingo by: Andrew Hadle – acrylic on panel

Three Point Fawn by: Andrew Hadle – mixed media

Nature Boy by: Andrew Hadle – ceramic

Prodigal Cub by: Glen Mies – watercolor on paper

Trophy Wall: Bat, by: Christa Dalien – acrylic on paper

Trophy Wall: Masked Girl, by: Christa Dalien – acrylic on paper

Trophy Wall: Rams, by: Christa Dalien – acrylic on paper

Trophy Wall: Weapons, by: Christa Dalien – acrylic on paper

photots by and posted by: Tricia Rock

The Hello! Show Recap

The Hello! Show, featuring the art and design of Tad Carpenter and Dan Padavic, provided The Rathaus with a fun night on Friday, December 5th, and now they can provide you with some great holiday gift ideas. Along with original artwork the show featured numerous products including posters, t-shirts, buttons, cards, gift tags, and plate sets which will be available in the storefront at 1800 Baltimore in Kansas City, MO through the month of December. Not in the area? No problem. Check out the provided links to Carpenter’s online store and Padavic’s Vahalla Studios online store for online ordering.

Block Party by: Dan Padavic – acrylic on wood

Block Party by: Dan Padavic – acrylic on wood

Block Party by: Dan Padavic – acrylic on wood

Skills Pay Bills by: Dan Padavic – acrylic on wood

Posters from Vahalla Studios

More posters from Vahalla Studios

Monster Mix-Up by: Tad Carpenter – screen prints

Plate (#1) by: Tad Carpenter - screen print on ceramic plate

Plate (#2) by: Tad Carpenter - screen print on ceramic plate

Plate (#3) by: Tad Carpenter - screen print on ceramic plate

Plate (#4) by: Tad Carpenter - screen print on ceramic plate

Hello! Whale by: Tad Carpenter – screen print on wood

Fun Time and Totem Pole by: Tad Carpenter – screen prints on wood

photos by and posted by: Tricia Rock

Lenna, the story of the first JPEG

Have you ever wondered what started certain universal phenomenon, or memes? Like the wave, knock-knock jokes, or even the Rick Roll [?]

Lenna is a standard test image whose rise in computer nerd popularity led her to become the first JPEG compression file ever created. The picture was chosen spontaneously in 1972 when engineers were searching for a high gloss image of a human face and someone walked in with an issue of Playboy. The tech engineers couldn’t resist and so the photo was cropped and scanned at the University of Southern California image processing lab and Lenna went on to become a staple of the imaging and later digital imaging world.

Lena Soderberg posed as a centerfold in the November 1972 issue of Playboy. Notorious for enforcing copyright laws, Playboy has intentionally ignored the excessive copyright infringement of the 5.12″ x 5.12″ image. In May 2006 the company reported the Soderberg issue as the best selling Playboy of all time.

Ideas are brought into our everyday lives, much like viruses. They gain an identity and a history, we either coexist or let them extinguish. Lenna will inevitably live on as an iconic representation of the most widely used image format of all time.

click here to see the full size image of lenna (nudity)

by: Scott Starrett