Even Pop Culture Data Has a Story to Tell

During New Student Orientation in fall 2013, Jason Salavon (MFA 1997), whose visual representations are uniquely Spartan and compelling, gave the featured alumni keynote artist lecture to SAIC’s incoming freshmen and their parents. 

Salavon takes the images and data that compose the elements of everyday life and uses software programs of his own design to unearth patterns. He manipulates their original presentation and displays them as art objects, either prints, photographs, video installations, or in real-time software contexts. 

In his lecture, Salavon discusses his early work as an MFA student at SAIC, in which he explored pop culture imagery and ideals—from major motion pictures to late-night talk shows—in ways that reinterpret their content and question their cultural roles. As he discusses his history and process, SAIC students are able to see how Salavon continues on an investigative trajectory while his concepts and interests continually evolve.