Times Square Arts: Peter Fischli and David Weiss return Büsi (Kitty) to the screens of Times Square fifteen years later as February’s Midnight Moment

Peter Fischli and David Weiss return Büsi (Kitty) to the screens of Times Square fifteen years later as February’s Midnight Moment

February 1–29, 2016, every night from 11:57pm–midnight

(New York, N.Y.) January 28, 2016—As part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts, Peter Fischli and David Weiss will rescreen their famous video, Büsi (Kitty) (2001), in which a cat languidly laps milk, coolly observing us from above on Times Square’s electronic billboards from 11:57 pm to midnight from February 1-29. This month’s project is in conjunction with the retrospective Peter Fischli David Weiss: How to Work Better, on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from February 5-April 27.

Büsi is a brief video by Peter Fischli and David Weiss, originally commissioned in 2001 by Creative Time as part of The 59th Minute project on the NBC Astrovision screen in Times Square. Fifteen years later, this cat again observes the bustle of all that surrounds it with cool detachment, lounging in the heart of our metropolis. The film is a short excerpt from Fischli and Weiss’ 96-hour video installation Untitled (Venice Work) (1995).

Artist Peter Fischli said, "Büsi was not made as a discussion about kitsch. There was just something super-nice about this cat that we were attracted to. . . . We were on holiday in separate places when the original invitation to put a work on the giant screen in Times Square came. But independently, we both had the same idea: why don't we show the video with the cat? To do something that's more spectacular than what's going on in Times Square would be impossible. We wanted to do something very simple and quiet: it was a logical step for us.”

Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, “Midnight Moment's inclusion of this video, which was originally shown in 2001 on one screen as part of Creative Time's 'The 59th Minute' series, amplifies the work and its importance by playing it across electronic billboards from 42nd to 49th Streets.”

Sherry Dobbin, Times Square Arts Director, said, “Büsi sits amongst Fischli & Weiss' explorations of the ordinary as extraordinary and the extraordinary as ordinary. This cat can easily represent the everyday triumph that any of us feel living in the density of this metropolis, taking one's time amongst the frenzy of media messaging.”

Fred Rosenberg, President of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said, “TSAC is proud to show Fischli and Weiss's Büsi for Midnight Moment, as its simple subject matter demonstrates that these screens will always continue to surprise and puzzle visitors and New Yorkers alike – the biggest compliment we can have is 'Did YOU see that?'”

The following digital screens are participating in the February 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 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.

Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The Guggenheim network that began in the 1970s when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, was joined by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, has since expanded to include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (opened 1997) and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (currently in development). Looking to the future, the Guggenheim Foundation continues to forge international collaborations that take contemporary art, architecture, and design beyond the walls of the museum, including with the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative and with The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. More information about the foundation can be found at guggenheim.org, and on Twitter and Instagram at @guggenheim.

Peter Fischli (b. 1952) and David Weiss (1946–2012) began their 33-year collaboration in 1979. Resisting any specific style, medium, or material, their work explores the poetics of banality—the sublimity of the objects and events constituting everyday life. Indebted to Dada, Surrealism, Pop Art, and Conceptual Art, their photographs, videos, slide projections, films, books, sculptures, and multimedia installations rely on keen observation and uncanny wit. Solo exhibitions of their work have been organized by the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1992); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1996); Museu d’art contemporani de Barcelona (2000); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2003–04); and Tate Modern, London (2006–07), among others. In 1995 they represented Switzerland in the Venice Biennale, presenting their 96-hour video installation Untitled (Venice Work) (1995); in 2003 they returned to Venice with their multiple slide installation Questions (2000-2003), for which they received the Leone d’Oro award. #FischliWeiss

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Media Contacts:

For Times Square Arts:

TJ Witham

212.452.5234 | TJWitham@TimesSquareNYC.org

Marisa Wayne

212.843.9216 | MWayne@Rubenstein.com