Rodney Alan Greenblat is an American artist, graphic designer and children's book author. He was previously director of the Center for Advanced Whimsy, is responsible for the character design of several video games, including the

PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaboration with artist Rodney Greenblat, t ...

series, and was an active figure in the East Village art scene of the 1980s.

Work

Greenblat's work was shown in East Village museums in the 1980s, including the

Gracie Mansion Gallery Gracie Mansion Gallery was an art gallery in New York City founded by artist and dealer Gracie Mansion (née Joanne Mayhew-Young). It is known an important site for the Lower East Side art scene of the 1980s. History Joanne Mayhew-Young changed h ...

, and was at the time considered part of a neo- surrealist movement. Within the same decade, he did the artwork for New York-based

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

They Might be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

' first album.''They Might Be Giants'' (Album notes). They Might Be Giants. Bar/None Records. 1986. In the 2010s, he has been recognized for his work on ''Parappa the Rapper'' and ''

Um Jammer Lammy is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console in 1999. It is a spin-off follow up to 1996's ''PaRappa the Rapper'', once again featuring the collaboration of m ...

'', as well as the ''Thunder Bunny'' series of books. In 2017, he opened The Rodney Shop, a retail outlet and gallery in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

. The location closed in 2020.

Computer and video games

* ''Rodney's Funscreen'' (Published by Activision, 1992, PC/ Mac) * ''Rodney's Wonder Window'' (Published by

Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...

, 1992, PC/Mac) * ''

Dazzleoids Dazzeloids is a 1994 children's CD-ROM game created by Rodney Greenblat, who also made ''PaRappa the Rapper''. It features Anne Dilly Whim, and her team of boredom banishers fighting the forces of mediocrity set by the Mediogre and his geeky assi ...

'' (Published by Voyager, 1994, PC/Mac) * ''

'' (Published by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, 1996, PS1) * ''Rodney's Funscreen 2 extreme'' (Published by Interlink, 1997, PC/Mac) * ''Rodney's Artbrain'' (Published by Interlink, 1997, PC/Mac) * ''

'' (Published by Sony, 1999, PS1) * ''

PaRappa the Rapper 2 is a 2001 rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game is the third title in the ''PaRappa the Rapper'' series following ''Um Jammer Lammy''. The game was made available ...

'' (Published by Sony, 2001,

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...

) * ''

Major Minor's Majestic March is a music video game for the Wii. It was created by PaRappa Rappa designer Masaya Matsuura and artist Rodney Greenblat. ''Major Minor’s Majestic March'' uses the Wii Remote as a mace (a form of baton used exclusively by drum majors) that the ...

'' (Published by

Majesco Entertainment Majesco Entertainment Company (formerly Majesco Sales Inc.) is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held company ...

, 2009,

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

)

Solo exhibition history

1982 *''The Threshold, Rodney Alan Greenblat''. Museum of Art,

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

, Providence, Rhode Island 1983 *Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York, New York 1984 *''Time of Love''. Galerie Anna Friebe, Cologne, Germany 1985 *''The New World''. Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York, New York *''Suburban Utopias/Familiar Frontiers''.

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art The Australian Centre For Contemporary Art (ACCA) is a contemporary art gallery in Melbourne, Australia. The gallery is located on Sturt Street in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, in the inner suburb of Southbank. Designed by Wood Marsh Architects ...

, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 1986 *''House of Progress''. Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York, New York *''The Tricentennial Room''. Karl Bornstein Gallery, Los Angeles, California 1987 *''Reality and Imagination; Two Taste Treats in One!''

Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA is a contemporary art museum in Philadelphia. The museum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania, and is located on its campus. The Institute is one of the country's leading museums dedicated to e ...

, Pennsylvania *''Reality and Imagination; Two Taste Treats in One!'' Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas *''The Scenic Route''. Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York, New York 1988 *''Design Your Own Future''.

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1989 *John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, California 1990 *''Cosmic Adhesive''. Gracie Mansion Gallery, New York, New York 1991 *''The Center for Advanced Whimsy''. Carpenter Arts Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1992 *''Land Ho! The Mythic World of Rodney A. Greenblat''. Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia *''Land Ho! The Mythic World of Rodney A. Greenblat''. Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia 1993 *''Technoweenie''. PPOW, New York, New York *''Land Ho! The Mythic World of Rodney A. Greenblat''. World Financial Center, New York, New York 1995 *''Rodney Time''. Creation Gallery G8, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan 1996 *''Rodney's Late Breakfast at Milk''. Milk, Ebisu, Tokyo, Japan 1997 *''Rodney Adventure''. Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut 1998 *''New Studio Rodney''. Parco Department Store, Japan 1999 *''Rodney’s Art in a Box''. Sony Plaza, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan 2000 *''Rodney’s Character Club and Post Office'' Parco Department Store, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan *''Cafe Rodney''. Tokyo, Japan 2001 *''Canworld Expo''. Takeshimaya Department Store, Osaka, Japan 2005 *''Modern Day''. BCB Gallery, Hudson, New York 2006 *''Downtown – The New York Art Scene 1974-1984''. Grey Art Gallery NYU, New York, New York *''Universe''. Centella Gallery, Tucson, Arizona 2007 *''Elemental''. Art Print Japan Galleries, Tokyo, Japan 2008 *''Free Wheel''. BCB Gallery, Hudson, New York 2010 *''Thunder Bunny Buddha Shrine''. BCB Gallery, Hudson, New York 2012 *''Karma-con''. The Rubin Museum, New York, New York 2013 *''Gala Veinte!''. Hudson Opera House, Hudson, New York *''The Wonder Verified and Fulfilled''. BCB Gallery, Hudson NY 2015 *''Vibrant Space''. BCB Gallery, Hudson, New York

References

External links

Rodney Alan Greenblat's official site

Rodney's official Japanese-language site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenblat, Rodney Alan 1960 births Living people American graphic designers People from Daly City, California Artists from California American children's writers