Chris Doyle Transforms Times Square Into a Flourishing Canyon with its Animal Inhabitants Throughout July

Chris Doyle will transform the concrete jungle of New York City's Times Square into a flourishing canyon landscape for three minutes every night in July as part of Midnight Moment. The artist's film, titled Bright Canyon, will premiere just beforemidnight on Tuesday, July 1st, and play every night throughout the month from 11:57 p.m. to midnight on Times Square's electronic billboards.Midnight Moment is a monthly presentation of The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts. The July MidnightMoment is presented in partnership with Andrew Edlin Gallery.

Brooklyn-based, interdisciplinary artist Chris Doyle has had his work exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally. He creates both temporary and permanent urban projects that reside in impressive locations from museums like Brooklyn Museum of Art to multiple U.S. Ambassadors' residences in Sweden and Australia. Most recently he was the recipient of a 2014 John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowship.

Bright Canyon reconnects Times Square to the natural world by conceiving of the space as a gorge. Referencing the history of Times Square as the confluence of streams, the district's walls and screens are transformed into a canyon landscape, populated by a series of exuberant local animals. The cliffs are based on photos, drawings, and videos taken on the Palisades along the Hudson River. Most of the animated animals are based on video of animals observed in Central Park. By starting in the sky, descending the cliff, and finally plunging into the river, the motion of the animation unifies the variety of screens into a single, immersive environment.

Chris Doyle said, "It is not a stretch to imagine the flow of people and cars moving through Times Square as a river. With this animation, I literally remapped the cliffs of the Palisades onto the existing canyon-like space, making a new park in the center of the city."

Sherry Dobbin, Times Square Public Art Director, said, "I love that Chris has pulled indigenous animals into our man-made gorge and made an amazing mash-up of what was here five hundred years ago, told through the contemporary canvas of digital signs."

Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, "Doyle's striking landscapes and graphics bring a different kind of life and vibrancy to our own urban jungle."

Harry Coghlan, Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said, "As returning Chair of TSAC, I am thrilled that the Midnight Momentprogram continues to showcase and curate innovative content from talented local artists like Chris Doyle. Times Square revelers will surely be enamored by this stellar piece that transforms the center of the concrete jungle into a vibrant, exuberant canyon."

The following digital screens are participating in the July Midnight Moment:

ABC Super Sign, American Eagle Times Square, Bank of America, CEMUSA, City Outdoor, Disney Store Spectacular, JVC Screen, NASDAQ, Spectacolor HD129 / Times Square Museum & Visitor Center Marquee, ClearChannel HD128, Spectacolor HD127 / CNN Screen, Superior Digital Displays Three Times Square #5, Times Square Museum & Visitor Center, Viacom North & South (SL Green Realty), Thomson Reuters, 7TS (7 Times Square), and V Media Times Square.

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 for 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 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 TimesSquareNYC.org/MidnightMoment.

Pictured: Chris Doyle, Bright Canyon; photo courtesy of the artist and Andrew Edlin Gallery