| Marc Horowitz | |
|---|---|
Marc Horowitz at Analix Forever Gallery in Geneva Switzerland |
|
| Born | July 19, 1976 Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A. |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Blogging & Media Art |
| Notable works | The National Dinner Tour, Marc Horowitz Signature Series, The Advice of Strangers |
| Influenced by | Harrell Fletcher, Jon Rubin, Allan Kaprow, Andy Kaufman, David Shrigley, Erwin Wurm, Roman Signer, George Saunders [1] |
| Internet information | |
| Web alias(es) | ineedtostopsoon |
| Web hosting service(s) | youtube, ustream |
| Meme | The National Dinner Tour [2][3] February 2005 |
| Signature phrase | "Maximalist & one-man think tank" [4] |
Marc Horowitz (born July 19, 1976, Westerville, Ohio) is an artist, actor, writer, filmmaker, comic, and internet celebrity based in Los Angeles, California.
Contents |
Horowitz is the son of Karen Meyer a schoolteacher and Burton Horowitz a pharmacist. At age eight, Horowitz founded his first company, a ghost removal and cleaning service. He had his first press at nine when he organized a breakdancing competition as entertainment for senior citizens.[5]
At age fifteen, Horowitz left home. For a while, he lived in an actor friend's basement and attended high school in Newburgh, Indiana at Castle High School, playing football and running track. At age seventeen, he attended Indiana University Bloomington, receiving his degree in Business Marketing and Microeconomics. He went on to attend the San Francisco Art Institute, where he studied under Harrell Fletcher and Jon Rubin.
In 2003, Horowitz and a long time collaborator, Jon Brumit, reinvented themselves as the business team of Sliv & Dulet Enterprises and opened an office in downtown San Francisco (at New Langton Arts). They staffed their company with 30 people (artists) of various backgrounds to help them "develop a summer line of products and services,"[6] which they pitched to local businesses. Some examples included a fog removal initiative for the Golden Gate Bridge, a full-service office in a tent, and a Swiss Army Cubicle.[7]
In 2005, Horowitz gained national attention while working on a catalog shoot for Crate and Barrel. He wrote "Dinner w/ Marc" along with his cell number on a dry-erase board featured in a home office shot for the catalog. When the catalog was distributed, Horowitz received more than 30,000 phone calls. He spent the following year driving across the country and having dinner with individuals that had called. This project was named "The National Dinner Tour".[8] He was also given the distinction by People magazine to be added to their list of the "50 Most Eligible Bachelors".[9]
In 2007, Dazed and Confused named Horowitz's website, www.ineedtostopsoon.com, one of the 50 best sites.[10]
Horowitz has exhibited his artwork internationally. In 2007, he had a show "More Better" at AMT Gallery in Como, Italy, "The Center for Improved Living" at Analix Forever in Geneva, Switzerland, and "Breakthrough" at Nuke Gallery in Paris, France. In 2008, Horowitz presented "The Me and You Show"[11] at the prestigious Hayward Gallery in London, England. He worked with Oliver Guy-Watkins.
Horowitz was featured in Nissan’s national ad campaign, “Seven Days in a Sentra," where he lived in a 2007 Nissan Sentra for seven days.[12] The campaign was covered by the New York Times Business section[13] and AdWeek.[14] Soon after, Horowitz was hired by Crispin Porter + Bogusky to play Mr. Track Town for a series of Nike & NBC commercials for the USA Olympic Trials 2008 held in Eugene, Oregon.
In the Summer of 2008, Horowitz completed "The Marc Horowitz Signature Series."[15][16] The series chronicled his journey across America as he drove along the shape of his signature. During the trip, Horowitz made 19 stops to improve the lives of the citizens he encountered, albeit in his own unconventional way. For one of the stops, he started an "Anonymous Semi-nudist Colony" in Nampa, Idaho.[17] He stopped in Craig, Colorado to bury people's problems in a public park plot.[18] Horowitz also stopped in Memphis, Tennessee to simply ask the citizens "Whaddaya love?" as part of the series.[19] For his last stop on the series, Horowitz stopped at Wrightsville Beach where he froze a briefcase in the middle of a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) patriotic ice sculpture challenged passers-by to guess when they think the ice will melt. The winner was awarded the suitcase and the goodies inside.[20][21] He filmed all his stops and they are aired as webisodes on Crackle as "The Marc Horowitz Signature Series."[22]
During December, 2008, Horowitz attempted to bail out the US's banks by creating action paintings that he gave to various banks to sell at auctions.[23]
From November 2008 through February 2009, Horowitz broadcast his life live 24/7 on the internet for a live audience as Talkshow 247. During this time he faced eviction from his apartment, hitchhiked across Los Angeles, hosted Thanksgiving Island, married his long-time true love and had several death threats from his downstairs neighbor.
From August 10 through August 18, 2009, Peter Baldes and Horowitz made the first virtual live-streaming broadcast cross-country road trip, calling it "Google Maps Road Trip." Using only Google Maps, they drove from Los Angeles to Richmond, Virginia.[24] They were interviewed by NPR Weekend Edition for their innovative "vacation."[25][26][27][28][29] They streamed live on ustream.tv.
In February 2010, G4 announced that Horowitz would be one of the hosts on a new series, It's Effin Science. They shot ten episodes.
From November 1–30, 2010, Marc crowdsourced his daily decisions on his "The Advice of Strangers" website. People were able to visit the site http://www.theadviceofstrangers.com and vote in real time on the choices he made everyday.[30][31][32][33][34][35]
Marc was one of 25 artists to receive AOL's 25 for 25 grant in November 2010.[36][37]
Marc (MFA '12) is currently enrolled at University of Southern California Roski School of Fine Arts as a graduate student earning his Master of Fine Arts.[38][39]