Performance and Humor in the New Media Landscape
Marc Horowitz will discuss how contemporary information technologies, i.e. smart phones, youtube, social media sites, are changing the way we make and consume art and entertainment. Marc Horowitz is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, video and installation. The central concerns driving most of his work have to do with engaging strangers around absurdist principles in public and on the internet. These projects engage in a dialog with a diverse range of subjects including entertainment, advertising, architectural environments, commerce and the quest for daily meaning. It is Marc's hope that his work speaks to "the moment, that it might reflect and critique American idealism, expansionism, and capitalism; that it might parody pop culture so successfully it becomes re-appropriated by it."
Marc Horowitz is many things: a virtual cross country explorer, a comedic performance enthusiast, sheep shearer, social experimentalist, one of People Magazine's 50 most eligible bachelors, and possibly the first would-be inventor of a brick-house, diesel-truck, hybrid helicopter. One of his recent digital adventures landed him on NPR's Weekend Edition --discussing the Los Angeles to Richmond, Virginia road trip he and friend, Peter Baldes, took via Google Maps without ever leaving their homes. Prior to that, Marc was challenged to live 168 hours straight in a Nissan Sentra for the "Seven Days in a Sentra" national ad campaign. Other projects include: "www.theadviceofstrangers.com" with Creative Time, where Marc lived his life through the advice of strangers as he surrendered his life choices online for the public to vote on; the Talkshow247 internet broadcast, a 24/7 three-month long lifecast; his involvement with The Center for Improved Living, "The Me & You Show" at the Hayward Gallery, "Marc Horowitz Saves America" MTV pilot, and the Human Video Game Experiment. His work can be seen on his site www.ineedtostopsoon.com.