Tracey Emin's I PROMISE TO LOVE YOU Set for Times Square

By: Feb. 01, 2013
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A dazzling visual valentine will be shared with New Yorkers and visitors to the Crossroads of the World this Valentine's Day season as part of a synchronized program on over fifteen of the largest digital signs in Times Square. Tracey Emin's work, I Promise To Love You, will premiere just before midnight on February 1st and play throughout the month as part of the "Midnight Moment," a presentation of the Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts. s[edition], the leading platform used by the worlds most recognized artists to distribute art digitally, has been instrumental in working directly with Emin to bring this project to life.

"Every year I send valentines. This year I won't have to. Times Square will do it for me," said artist Tracey Emin. Ms. Emin noted that this title refers to her promise to love NYC, as well as individual promises to love one another.

Alan High, Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition and President & General Manager of Clear Channel Outdoor Spectacolor & Mall Divisions, said, "Times Square is the world's best place to spread a message and our sign operators are delighted to help Ms. Emin share her Valentine's Day message with New York as part of our 'Midnight Moment.'"

"Tracey Emin brilliantly captures the vocabulary of neon that for so long defined Times Square's signage," said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance.

As one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary artists, Tracey Emin's moving series of neonworks, I Promise To Love You, is comprised of six written love messages animated especially for the "Midnight Moment." In this unique moving image, the glowing words-made of neon lights-slowly spell themselves out, as if being written by a ghost or an invisible presence. The gentle electric pulsing of the lettering gradually builds into a powerful potent red, leaving the viewer in no doubt about the power of love. Times Square, famous for its neon lighting displays, is the perfect venue for the premiere for Emin's animation.

s[edition], the curatorial partner for this month's project, provided the six Emin works. "We are delighted that the Times Square Advertising Coalitionand Times Square Arts have reached out to us and we look forward to supporting their public art initiative," said RoBert Norton, CEO of s[edition].

The "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, formerly known as "Times Square Moment: A Digital Gallery," 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 for the Times Square Alliance, with additional partners of participating sign holders and artists. Past artists featured in the program include Robert Wilson; Seoungho Cho; Vicki DaSilva, Surabhi Saraf, and Elly Cho; Erika Janunger; Takeshi Murata; Bel Borba with Burt Sun and André Costantini; BrIan Gonzalez (aka Taxiplasm);and Yoko Ono. For more information on past projects, please visit http://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-arts/moment/index.aspx.

Each night, Times Square becomes a digital art gallery through dazzling visuals on select billboards and newsstands. Every show begins at 11:57pm with a "countdown" that signals the start of the 3 minute nightly presentation. Content changes monthly; selected works are announced in the weeks preceding the start of a new show as are the exact signs participating in that month's selection.

The following digital screens are participating in the February "Midnight Moment": ABC Super Sign, American Eagle Times Square, Bank of America, CEMUSA, City Outdoor, Disney, JVC Screen, NASDAQ, Spectacolor HD129 / Times Square Museum & Visitor Center Marquee, ClearChannel HD128, Spectacolor HD127 / CNN Screen, Times Square Museum & Visitor Center, Viacom North & South (SL Green Realty) Thomson Reuters, and 7TS (7 Times Square).

Guidelines for artist and designer participation in future programs are located on the Times Square website.



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