Peter Downsbrough

(New Jersey (USA), 1940)

Video: 7 come 11, 1980

16 mm film, color sound
4 min 30sec

             

Stills of "7 come 11", 1980-2013. In 1980, Downsbrough rented space on the Spectacolor Board on Times Square in New York to put up his short, 30 second piece, The Dice, which made him one of the first artists to use that space. The 30 second spot showed once every hour for four days and the artist documented it in the short film 7 come 11. In 7 come 11, the Spectacolor Board is filled with rolling dice: “The Dice are not loaded”, says the sign, and a few seconds later, “Yes they are” and the pulse of Times Square is captured, in the time it takes to roll the dice. The film begins with a voice spelling the title, underlining the preeminence of the spoken word over images in New York City, which compose a fusion of colors, forms and words.