Tracey Emin Will Bring Valentines to Times Square

by Corinna Kirsch on January 29, 2013 Newswire

Tracey Emin in classic "lemon pout" form.

Beginning this Friday, February 1st, Times Square will bask in a new type of radiant, neon glory. Tracey Emin, hot off the heels of her appointment as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), will now bring digital versions of her “love neons” to Times Square throughout the entire month of February. The work she’s showing, I Promise To Love You, is, according to Times Square Alliance (TSA), a Valentine’s Day present to New York.

“Every year I send valentines. This year I won’t have to,” Tracey Emin snarkily states in the press release, adding, “Times Square will do it for me.” That’s typical sarcasm coming from an artist who has never been known to smile, only pucker.

Emin’s neons will begin blinking every February night at the stroke of 11:57 PM. Then, for a very brief three minutes, her messages—cliches like “You Touch My Soul”—will appear across dozens of LED screens in the square.

ARTnews Executive Editor Robin Cembalest reports that this is not the first time Emin has made digital versions of her neon signs.

The digital animations [for Times Square] were created for s[edition], one of the platforms that have sprung up in recent years to offer multiples by big-name artists that the general public can afford…(Emin’s digital neons, which are in editions of 2,000, are priced at $80; three new works will go on sale Thursday starting at $16 each. The price rises automatically as the edition continues to sell.)

Ah, for love and money.

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