March 1-31st, 2016, every night from 11:57 p.m.–midnight
(New York, N.Y.) February 24, 2016 – In partnership with Moving Image, Times Square Arts brings Lorna Mills’ brief GIF of a sunrise over a mountain to Times Square’s electronic billboards from 11:57 pm to midnight every night in March. This project is a part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by the Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts.
Mountain Light/Time is an animated GIF collage of a speedy sunrise over mountaintops, with each loop timed to match the duration of a deep breath. The collage creates a virtual inhalation and exhalation of mountain air and light in the middle of Times Square.
Edward Winkleman and Murat Orozobekov, Co-Founders of Moving Image, said "Moving Image art fair has championed artists working in new mediums since its inception, so we're very excited that our ongoing collaboration with the Times Square Advertising Coalition and Times Square Arts will result in the first Midnight Moment presentation of work by an artist creating moving image work in GIF format. As a widely respected leader in this emerging fine art medium, Lorna Mills is a perfect choice for this pioneering presentation."
TRANSFER said, “The gallery is thrilled this artwork from Lorna Mills will reach a new contemporary art audience and general public alike via the Times Square Midnight Moment launching during Armory Art Week. In the past two decades Mills has amassed a vibrant online following – her artwork has seen millions of impressions globally. This exhibition of animated GIF artwork stretching across the massive screens in Times Square is the ultimate physical installation of this popular contemporary art format.”
Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, “We continue to reach out to our city’s incredibly rich resources through the art fairs that are so crucial to NYC’s cultural identity.”
Sherry Dobbin, Times Square Arts Director, said, “Lorna’s animated GIF creates a magical taxi-yellow backdrop for a mythological landscape that appears in the duration of one long inhale and exhale.”
Fred Rosenberg, President of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said “Our selection committee was taken by Lorna Mills’ use of such a contemporary technology that relates to our audiences.”
The following digital screens are participating in the March Midnight Moment:
ABC SuperSign, American Eagle Times Square, Bank of America, Branded Cities 7 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, Morgan Stanley Lights on Broadway, Sherwood Equities 1 Times Square, Superior Digital Displays Three Times Square #5, Superior Digital Displays Triple Play
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 Peter Fischli and David Weiss; Laurie Anderson; Antony Nagelmann; Jesper Just; Shahzia Sikander; Rashaad Newsome; Osgemeos; Eric Dyer; Richard Garet; Andy Warhol; Peggy Ahwesh; Marco Brambilla; 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.
Canadian artist Lorna Mills has actively exhibited her work in both solo and group exhibitions since the early 1990's, both in Canada and Internationally. Her practice has included obsessive Ilfochrome printing, obsessive painting, obsessive super 8 film & video, and obsessive on-line animated GIFs incorporated into restrained off-line installation work. Recent exhibitions include “Abrupt Diplomat” at the Marshal McLuhan Salon for Transmediale, “At Play in the Fields of the Lord” at Transfer Gallery, Brooklyn NY and “DKRM”at DAM Gallery, Berlin. Lorna Mills' most recent curation project, “Ways of Something” is a collaborative remake of the 1972 John Berger documentary “Ways of Seeing” episodes one through four, featuring over 113 networked artists. Lorna Mills is represented by TRANSFER in Brooklyn, New York and DAM Gallery in Berlin.
TRANSFER explores the friction between networked studio practice and its physical instantiation. The gallery supports artists working with computer-based practices to realize aggressive installation projects within our walls, and exhibits internationally to engage the growing market for media-based artworks. Follow TRANSFER at twitter.com/transfergallery, facebook.com/transfergallery and instagram.com/transfergallery.
Moving Image was conceived to offer a viewing experience with the excitement and vitality of a fair, while allowing moving image-based artworks to be understood and appreciated on their own terms. The Moving Image Curatorial Advisory Committee for New York 2016 invited a selection of international commercial galleries and non-profit institutions to present single-channel videos, single-channel projections, video sculptures, and other larger video installations.
###
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
For Moving Image:
Murat Orozebekov
917.476.6447 | murat@moving-image.info