Jason Salavon's Late Night Triad (2003) captures American late-night television's three most popular hosts: Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and David Letterman. A combination of sixty-four nights of continually taped programs, Salavon's animated portrait, which runs approximately three-and-a-half minutes, accentuates the typical features of each television personality's routine. Unlike conventional portraiture, we do not recognize these performers from their faces, which cannot be readily deciphered, but rather from the combination of movement and vocal intonations that we have come to expect from each.
Listen to Salavon discussing the work and his process.
The National Portrait Gallery is standardizing practices in the process of collecting artworks. They request technical information about the work upon acquisition.
- Alex Cooper, Exhibits Designer at the Museum, developed an Archival Package for the work that includes the work's components, technical information, artist interviews, and more. Dive into the Archival Package created by Alex Cooper. It is based on the OAIS model.
- Read an Interview with Alex Cooper on his role in the care of time-based media artworks.
The National Portrait Gallery is working with the Smithsonian's Digital Asset Management System to plan for the long-term digital storage needs of components of the work.
- See a Presentation by DAMS Manager Isabel Meyer on the Smithsonian's Digital Asset Management System.
About the Artist
Jason Salavon, a Chicago-based artist, expands traditional conceptions of portraiture with his use of digital manipulation.