Release Date: May 30, 2014
Midnight Moment: Transits by Yorgo Alexopoulos
June 1-30, 2014, every night from 11:57 p.m.–midnight
Yorgo Alexopoulos, Transits; Production still courtesy of the artist.
(New York, N.Y.) May 30, 2014 —Just in time for the month of the Summer Solstice, Yorgo Alexopoulos’s site-specific June Midnight Moment will fill 42 large LED screens with abstracted celestial forms, creating a virtual solar system in Times Square. The artist’s film, titled Transits, will premiere just before midnight on Sunday, June 1st, and play every night throughout the month from 11:57 p.m. to midnight. Midnight Moment is a monthly presentation of The Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts.
New York-based artist Yorgo Alexopoulos is best known for his innovative use of new media and technology in the contemporary art and film industries. The artist often transforms his paintings, photographs, films, and digital works into immersive time-based, fine art installations.
For the June Midnight Moment, Alexopoulos converts Times Square into a digital tapestry of lushly colored video artworks that are synchronized and displayed across 42 large LED screens. His videos are renderings of intermixed animations of abstracted celestial forms, geometric shapes, patterns, and expansive views of outer space. As planets and stars pass across one another, the artwork explores the human process of interpretation and perception. Displayed across the wide array of screens in Times Square, the viewer experiences depth, movement, and motion through the artist’s use of opposing temporal and spatial animations. Each night, the artwork unfolds over the final three minutes before midnight, creating a uniquely immersive experience.
Yorgo Alexopoulos said, “The pieces I make fuse my interests and worldview into an artwork that has some mystery or abstraction but enough common symbolism that anybody can relate to. Ultimately, the audience makes their own interpretation but along the way the artist and viewer share a collective experience.”
Sherry Dobbin, Times Square Public Art Director, said, “This is the first time we have used the signs as individual components of collage. Alexopoulos’s unique solar system surrounds our special planet, Times Square.”
Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, said, “The addition of Alexopoulos’s virtual solar system floating across our billboards every night in June adds to our special Summer Solstice celebrations, which also is, of course, linked to planetary movements.”
Toby Sturek, Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said, “We’re thrilled that Yorgo Alexopoulos’s innovating and captivating work was made to be displayed on the digital screens in Times Square. Locals and visitors will surely be fascinated by this month’s galactic Midnight Moment.”
The June Midnight Moment aligns with the Times Square Alliance’s counter point to New Year’s Eve: Solstice in Times Square celebrating the longest day of the year, June 21. Throughout history, many cultures have associated the summer solstice with a renewal of mind, body and spirit and a celebration of creative expression. What better place to celebrate than in Times Square – a center for creativity, energy, bright lights and over-the-top artistic expression. Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org/Solstice for details.
The following digital screens are participating in the June 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.
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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 @TSqArts
About The Artist
Yorgo Alexopoulos is a New York-based artist best known for combining a variety of media into immersive fine art installations and artworks. He creates his artworks by combining and synchronizing multiple monitors or projections, LED screens, and electronics into custom-fabricated structures and architectural environments. Alexopoulos’s artworks often touch upon transcendental themes. In 2001, Alexopoulos was the visual effects supervisor for the film The Kid Stays in the Picture, which chronicles the life of Hollywood legend Robert Evans of Paramount Pictures. On this project he was instrumental in the development of the 2.5d effect that is now ubiquitous in video art, film, and advertising. Alexopoulos was raised in Venice Beach, CA, and was a member of the legendary Los Angeles graffiti crew WCA (West Coast Artists) when he tagged as “Ash” during the mid to late 1980s and helped pioneer the graffiti movement in Southern California. His work has been exhibited internationally and throughout the United States. He graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York represents him. Please visit www.yorgo.org for further information.
About Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery
Since its founding in 2002, Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery has made a major commitment to representing artists who are exploring the intersection of art and technology. The gallery’s roster has made significant contributions to the genre of video and new media and has profoundly influenced future generations of moving image makers. In addition to its exhibition program, Bryce Wolkowitz offers Art Consultation Services for private and corporate collections. As a member of The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), the gallery participates in numerous international art fairs including Paris Photo, The Armory Fair and PULSE Miami.
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Media Contacts:
For Times Square Arts: Gia Storms (212) 452-5205 │gstorms@timessquarenyc.org
Daniela Stigh (212) 843-8269 │dstigh@rubenstein.com
For TSAC: Justine DiGiglio (212) 205-6632 │Justine@nicholaslence.com