NOVEMBER “MIDNIGHT MOMENT” TO SHOWCASE HAND-PAINTED ANIMATION “AT THE SAME MOMENT”

Monthly Program is Organized and Supported by the Times Square Advertising Coalition in Partnership with Times Square Arts

November 2013, every night from 11:57 p.m. – midnight

Video here

For this month’s “Midnight Moment,” Ethiopian-born artist Ezra Wube shares his version of the New York City commuter experience through his hand-painted animation, At the Same Moment. To create this compelling, dynamic video, Wube painted scenes of his daily journey to work from memory and then photographed them. Each frame was painted on top of the previous one, each scene triggering the following scene.

Wube’s work will premiere just before midnight on November 1st and play every night throughout November from 11:57 p.m. – midnight.  The “Midnight Moment,” a presentation of the Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts, is a synchronized program on over fifteen of the largest digital signs in Times Square.

Ezra Wube said: “In my work I am interested in exploring time, place, and memory through the everyday experience. By refusing a concrete representation, I have found the freedom to make art that is consistent with the flux of my life.”

Fred Rosenberg, Acting Chairman of the Times Square Advertising Coalition, said: “We’re thrilled to bring Ezra Wube’s paintings to life on the screens of Times Square as part of November’s Midnight Moment. New Yorkers and visitors will surely enjoy this film as it captures the energy and essence of the never static New York City.”

Sherry Dobbin, Director of Public Art for Times Square Alliance, said: “It’s exciting to give an emerging artist, straight out of a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Swing Space residency, the visibility for this incredibly delicate and emotional work on a grand scale.”

Melissa Levin, Director of Cultural Programs at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, said: "Ezra spent this summer in Building 110: LMCC's Arts Center at Governors Island creating 'At the Same Moment' by daily adding and erasing images to his studio walls. There couldn't be a better platform for Ezra's latest stop animation than Times Square, where it will provide thousands with a singular moment to pause and contemplate their own relationship to New York City."

The following digital screens are participating in the November 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). 

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 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; Brian Gonzalez (aka Taxiplasm);Björk; JR; Ryan McGinley; Jack Goldstein; Nature Theater of Oklahoma; and Yoko Ono. For more information on past projects, please visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org/MidnightMoment.

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

About the Artist

Ezra Wube (b. 1980, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia). Ezra moved to the United States at the age of 18 and received his BFA in painting from the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, and an MFA from Hunter College, New York, NY. His works encompasses video, installations, drawing, painting and performance.  To learn more about Ezra visit: www.ezrawube.net.

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 to experiment and engage with one of the world's most iconic urban places. Acting as a laboratory for contemporary art in the public realm—a place where ideas are tested and new possibilities explored. Times Square Arts works with artists and cultural institutions to create dialogues with Times Square and all of its physical and mythological manifestations. 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 by ArtPlace America and ArtWorks. Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org/arts for more information. Follow us on Twitter @TSqArts and Instagram http://instagram.com/tsqarts

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), now celebrating its 40th Anniversary year, remains dedicated to advancing artists, transforming audiences, and catalyzing communities through a suite of programs that include Manhattan Community Arts Grants, Artist Residencies, Professional Development for Artists, and Public Programs. LMCC believes that visionary cultural initiatives can lead to sustainable community growth and the development in both quantity and quality of opportunities for artists if those initiatives align with the neighborhood needs, find support from both public and private sectors; and engage cross-sector partnerships. In pursuit of a sustainable practice, LMCC is developing methods to consider the environmental, social and economic consequence of all programs while examining the roles arts and culture play as change agents in twenty first century cities.