MIDNIGHT MOMENT: STORMING TIMES SQUARE Premieres in Times Square 9/1

Earlier this summer, over 1,200 people lined up in Times Square to be filmed crawling across a green screen. Spanish artist Daniel Canogar captured the footage of their crawls and has edited it to be shown on the Square's spectacular billboards in September. The resulting film, titled Storming Times Square, will have its premiere on Times Square billboards September 1 and screened every night in September at 11:57 p.m. as part of the Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation of The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts. This month's presentation is in partnership with bitforms gallery.

Using methods of public intervention and video installation, Storming Times Square is born from a desire to have viewers project themselves, literally and metaphorically, onto their immediate environments. The Visitors to Times Square were filmed crawling horizontally on a green screen, and this month, the film will be projected vertically on the buildings of Times Square, giving the illusion that the participants are scaling the buildings.

Daniel Canogar said, "Filming in Times Square has changed the way I think and feel about 'the crowd.' I have studied each and every one of the video captures of the participants, over 1,200 of them. They feel like friends and collaborators: I'm familiar with the way they move and dress, I remember specific anecdotes and words we exchanged before and after their participation, and to see them give themselves over so generously to the art project makes me feel so thankful. Young and old, all ethnic backgrounds and nationalities, I now feel the crowd not as an anonymous conglomeration but as an aggregate of individuals, each and every one with his/her challenges and hopes. From the computers where I have been editing the artwork in the privacy of my studio, to the enormously public screens of Times Square, there is a big leap. I'm restless to witness this transition, to see how my vision translates into reality. "

Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, "Daniel Canogar created the ultimate Times Square experience, giving every visitor the opportunity to experience their fifteen minutes of fame and be showcased on our billboards."

Sherry Dobin, Times Square Arts Director, said, "This is the first Midnight Moment created in Times Square for Times Square. We always look for opportunities to have the public participate in the making of an artwork in a very meaningful, professional way. In Canogar's film, people will see themselves on the screens as an integral part of an artist's vision."

Harry Coghlan, Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said, "We're thrilled to share Daniel Canogar's innovative and interactive edition of the monthly Midnight Moment program with visitors, locals and participants! The 1,200 Times Square participants will get to experience a moment of fame on the iconic digital screens in the Crossroads of the World."

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

ABC Super Sign, American Eagle Times Square, Bank of America, CBS Outdoor 1515 Broadway (SL Green Realty), CEMUSA, City Outdoor, Disney Store Spectacular, Branded Cities NASDAQ Tower Times Square, Branded Cities Thomson Reuters, Branded Cities 7TS (7 Times Square), and Branded Cities 1 Times Square (1 Times Square), Clear Channel Spectacolor HD127, Clear Channel Spectacolor HD128, Superior Digital Displays Three Times Square #5, and Sherwood Outdoor.

The project is presented in partnership with bitforms gallery, and supported by AC/E and Spain Culture New York - Consulate General of Spain: member of the network Spain Arts & Culture.

Click HERE to watch a video of the filming on Duffy Square in July.

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 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 TimesSquareNYC.org/MidnightMoment.

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

Times Square Arts, the public arts 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 ArtPlace America and ArtWorks. Visit TimesSquareNYC.org/Arts for more information. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @TSqArts.

Daniel Canogar (Madrid, 1964) received an M.A. from NYU and the International Center for Photography in 1990. His work as a visual artist focuses on photography, video, and installation art. He has created numerous public art pieces, including Waves, a permanent sculptural installation made with LED tiles, for the atrium of 2 Houston Center, Houston; Travesías, a flexible LED screen commissioned for the atrium of the European Union Council in Brussels during the Spanish Presidency of the European Union in 2010; and Constelaciones, the largest photo-mosaic in Europe created for two pedestrian bridges over the Manzanares River, in MRío Park, Madrid. Daniel has exhibited widely in Europe and the Americas. His recent work includes Asalto Greenwich, a video-projection inside The J House Hotel in Greenwich, CT; "Quadratura", a solo Exhibition at Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Lima; and Synaptic Passage, an installation commissioned for the Exhibition "Brain: The Inside Story" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Founded in 2001, bitforms gallery is engaged in a contemporary focus that specializes in the visual discourse of new media culture. The gallery's program draws upon a diverse range of disciplines and intellectual perspectives while maintaining a clear progressive thread. Supporting mid-career and historic figures, as well as launching emerging artists, bitforms gallery works with a roster of artists who participate in leading international exhibitions. Visit www.bitforms.com for more information.

AC/E is a state company belonging to the public enterprise sector. Following the strategic guidelines of the office of the Secretary of State for Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, its aims are to promote Spain's cultures and plural art-historical legacy and heritage both in Spain and overseas, to support the competiveness and internationalisation of the creative and cultural sector, and to foster Spain's presence at particularly significant events and international and Universal expositions. www.accioncultural.es

About Spain Culture New York - Consulate General of Spain: member of the network Spain Arts & Culture:

The Government of Spain - through the Cultural Department of the Consulate General of Spain in New York City, and the network of organizations supporting Spain's culture and language promotes culture and art, and strives to strengthen bilateral cultural, artistic and academic exchanges. Spanish-American cultural cooperation aims to create multiple links between the creative sectors of both countries and promote Spain's contemporary creative and artistic expressions. This cultural network also presents many art programs - featuring dance, music, visual arts, literature, humanities, architecture, and design - in a variety of venues, also in collaboration with relevant American entities throughout New York City. All cultural and artistic activities are supported by the Spanish Government in the US aiming to emphasize on diverse opinions and multiple forms of expression in line with Spain's own diversity in language, creativity and unique cultural heritage.

About Spain Arts and Culture:

SPAIN arts & culture features the most cutting-edge works of international renowned Spanish artists in fields such as design, urban culture, architecture, visual arts, film, performing arts, literature and music. A series of exhibitions, conferences, showcases, and performances take place every year at the most prestigious American cultural institutions bringing a taste of all the creativity, history, and talent of Spanish artists to the American public. This program is organized by the Embassy of Spain's Cultural Office in Washington, D.C. and its network of General Consulates and Cervantes Institutes in the United States together with the Spain-USA Foundation. The Spanish-American cultural cooperation aims to create multiple links between the creative sectors of both countries and promote modern Spain's fertile spectrum of contemporary artistic expression. All cultural and artistic activities that the Spanish government promotes and supports in the U.S., with special attention to Americas Hispanic community, strive to emphasize a plurality of expression and opinion, in line with Spain's own diversity in language, creativity in the arts and unique cultural heritage.