March 1-31, 2015, every night from 11:57 p.m.–midnight
Apollo 18 by Marco Brambilla. Image courtesy of the artist.
(New York, N.Y.) February 19, 2015 — Artist Marco Brambilla has created Apollo XVIII, an ambitious video installation that weaves archival footage from real NASA missions with computer-generated imagery to present a countdown of a fictional Apollo mission to the moon. It will be shown on Times Square’s electronic billboards from 11:57 pm to midnight each night in March as part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts. The March presentation is in partnership with Michael Fuchs Galerie.
Apollo XVIII re-interprets mankind’s relationship to space exploration in the electronic age. At the close of the Apollo program and the dawn of journeys to Mars, as expedition technologies segue from hybrid manned-electronic to virtual models, the NASA Program acts as a metaphor for the shift from physical to surrogate modes of exploration.
Apollo XVIII presents the countdown to an imagined lift-off of a Saturn V rocket on dozens of Times Square’s spectacular screens. The fictional mission combines both real, archival footage and virtual renderings to present a new collective viewing experience that will place the public at the foot of a new frontier.
Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, “Marco Brambilla’s piece reminds us of Times Square’s place at the cutting-edge of technological innovation and cultural exploration. Apollo XVIII will immerse Times Square in the future of space travel and bring the neighborhood to new heights through its innovative imagery.”
Sherry Dobbin, Times Square Arts Director, said “Marco Brambilla’s mythical mission combines the memory and romance of past space travel with the frightening velocity of the rocket and the futuristic landscapes of new, undiscovered territories. Only in Times Square can one recreate the scale and magnitude of such an experience.”
Fred Rosenberg, President of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said, “The high-tech digital screens in the Crossroads of the World are the perfect platform to display this virtual mission to outer space.”
Harry Coghlan, Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said, “Locals and visitors alike will surely enjoy and appreciate March’s cutting-edge Midnight Moment content that showcases the human achievement of space travel throughout Times Square, a brilliant landscape of technology.”
Marco Brambilla, artist, said “The space age represented a landscape of optimism, capturing the imagination of the public. With Apollo XVIII I hope to recapture the golden age of manned space travel as a spectacle presenting Times Square as the virtual launch site.”
Michael Fuchs Galerie, partnering organization, said “Galerie Michael Fuchs is proud to support Apollo XVIII, the most ambitious project yet from Marco Brambilla: a fabricated mission of iconic moments from past and present, extrapolating a virtual experience of the future. Apollo 18 asks the question: is this a real mission, is it fact or fiction?”
The following digital screens are participating in the March Midnight Moment:
ABC Super Sign, American Eagle Times Square, Bank of America, Branded Cities 7 Times Square, Branded Cities 1 Times Square, Branded Cities NASDAQ Tower Times Square, Branded Cities Thomson Reuters, Outfront Media 1515 Broadway/ Viacom North & South, CEMUSA, City Outdoor, Clear Channel, Spectacolor HD127/CNN, Clear Channel Spectacolor HD128, Disney Store Spectacular, Superior Digital Displays Three Times Square #5
Marco Brambilla's work will be auctioned off with the online auction house Paddle8 from March 1 – 16 to support the making of this project.
More of Marco Brambilla’s work will be featured at McCabe Fine Art in Stockholm, Sweden from March 20 - April 19, 2015.
About Midnight Moment
Midnight Moment is the largest coordinated effort in history by the sign operators in Times Square to display synchronized, cutting-edge creative content on electronic billboards and newspaper kiosks throughout Times Square every night. The program premiered in May 2012 and is organized and supported by the Times Square Advertising Coalition in partnership with Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, with additional partners of participating sign holders and artists.
Each night, Times Square becomes a digital art gallery through dazzling visuals on select billboards and newsstands. Every show begins at 11:57 p.m. with a "countdown" that signals the start of the three minute nightly presentation. Past artists featured in the program include Rafaël Rozendaal, Sebastian Errazuriz, Charles Atlas and Antony, Noah Hutton, Ryoji Ikeda, Daniel Canogar, Alfredo Jaar; Isaac Julien; Robert Wilson; Tracey Emin; Seoungho Cho; Vicki DaSilva, Surabhi Saraf, and Elly Cho; Erika Janunger; Takeshi Murata; Bel Borba with Burt Sun and André Costantini; Zach Nader; Brian Gonzalez (aka Taxiplasm); Björk; JR; Ryan McGinley; Jack Goldstein; Nature Theater of Oklahoma; Ezra Wube; Laleh Khorramian; Brian Dailey; Leslie Thornton; and Yoko Ono. For more information on past projects, please visit http://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/projects/midnight-moment/index.aspx.
###
Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) is a trade association comprised of major advertisers, retailers, real estate firms, media companies and other businesses involved in the outdoor sign industry in Times Square, along with organizations representing Broadway and the community. Members of TSAC include: ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales, Clear Channel Spectacolor, Daktronics, D3 LED, Digital Domination, Hines Management, Jamestown One Times Square, Lamar Advertising Company, Landmark Sign & Electric, Metro Media Technologies, Newmark Knight Frank, North Shore Neon, P.R.omotion!, Sherwood Outdoor, SL Green, Times Square Alliance, The WOW Factor and Thomson Reuters. www.timessquareadcoalition.org. Follow TSAC on twitter at @TSACNYC.
Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, collaborates with contemporary artists and cultural institutions to experiment and engage with one of the world's most iconic urban places. Through the Square's electronic billboards, public plazas, vacant areas and popular venues, and the Alliance's own online landscape, Times Square Arts invites leading contemporary creators to help the public see Times Square in new ways. Times Square has always been a place of risk, innovation and creativity, and the Arts Program ensures these qualities remain central to the district's unique identity. Generous support of Times Square Arts is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit http://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/index.aspx for more information. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @TSqArts.
Marco Brambilla is a Milan-born, New York-based video collage and installation artist, known for his elaborate re-contextualizations of popular and found imagery. His work has been exhibited in major collections worldwide including the Kunsthalle Bern, The Guggenheim Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the ARCO foundation, Madrid, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. His video installations have been screened at Venice Film Festival (2011) and the Sundance Film Festival (2012), and in May 2011, In early 2015, Brambilla will be showing the Megaplex series Fondation Beyeler, Basel and the Contemporary Art Museum, St.Louis.
Michael Fuchs Galerie
http://www.michaelfuchsgalerie.com/
Paddle8 is an auction house for the twenty-first century. We present online auctions of trusted inventory as well as benefit auctions in collaboration with leading museums and foundations, all hosted on an elegant platform that makes collecting swift and seamless. To date, Paddle8 has partnered with over 200 non-profit organizations worldwide to present their benefit auctions online, dramatically expanding the audience of supporters and fundraising results for each auction. Founded in 2011 by Alexander Gilkes, an auctioneer and LVMH veteran, and Aditya Julka, a Harvard Business School MBA and serial entrepreneur, Paddle8 today has over 50 employees worldwide, with teams in New York, L.A., and London. Paddle8 is funded by the investors behind Uber, Vimeo, Buzzfeed, Paperless Post, Warby Parker, and Bonobos, among others, as well as art-world insiders Damien Hirst, Jay Jopling, and Matthew Mellon. Access Paddle8 auctions anytime at Paddle8.com or through Paddle8's iPhone app, available for free in the App Store.
###
Media Contacts:
For Times Square Arts:
TJ Witham (212) 452-5234│ TJWitham@TimesSquareNYC.org
Marisa Wayne (212) 843-9216 │MWayne@Rubenstein.com
For TSAC:
Justine DiGiglio (212) 205-6632 │Justine@NicholasLence.com