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Creator
Konopka, Joseph, 1932-
Call number
*T-Vim 2004-010
Physical description
3.57 linear feet (9 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Joseph Konopka scenic art journals for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Joseph Konopka was a scenic artist for the NBC-TV show Late Night with Conan O'Brien between 1993 and 2009. These notebooks document his design contributions to the show, and contain sketches, diagrams, photographs, notes, construction directions, and samples of materials used in fabricating sets and props.

Biographical/historical information

Painter and scenic artist Joseph Stanley Konopka was born in Philadelphia in 1932. He began his career in scenic art at NBC-TV in 1952 and has painted and designed sets and props for many television programs, including Late Night with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Konopka was the vice president of the Associated Artists of New Jersey from 1976 to 1985, and is also a landscape and portrait painter.

Source: Accessed December 11, 2012. http://www.avampatoart.com/profiles/joseph-konopka.pdf

Scope and arrangement

This collection comprises 23 notebooks that Joseph Konopka created while working as a scenic art designer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien between October 18, 1993, a month after the premier of the show, and the final show on February 20, 2009. The journals document the development of many of the program's visual gags, as well as the crew's work on special scenery and claymations, and the daily upkeep of the set.

The notebooks contain project lists detailing Konopka's daily production and painting responsibilities. Entries often include set and prop sketches and diagrams; design and construction notes; paint color and wallpaper samples; photographs of sets, props, crewmembers, cast, and guests; and other ephemera from the show.

Arrangement

Volumes are arranged in chronological order.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Donated by Joseph Konopka in 2004 and 2009.

Processing information

Compiled by Philip Heslip.

These journals were placed in archival folders and ordered chronologically.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.