Mandiberg, Michael

ONLINE

Oil Standard is a post-Gold Standard measure of the state of the U.S. economy, in relation to the current cost of oil. Internet users who download Mandiberg’s Firefox plug-in can visit sites like Amazon or Orbitz and see U.S. dollar amounts converted into relative barrels of oil, according to their current cost. The project speaks to the relationship between American foreign policy and the branding of the U.S. economy, creating the context for a conversation about the impact that the often violent exportation of “democracy” is having on the U.S. economic health and about the ways in which consumer habits are implicated in this cycle.

Oil Standard 2006, ongoing