Real Costs by Michael Mandiberg

This site uses the internet to give users a new perspective. The artist wanted to create a piece of work that could be interactive and personal to the viewer. The internet is the best medium for this aim because it is the fastest way to communicate and show information to the broadest group of people. The same affect would not reached using a tangible medium within a gallery. Anyone who has access to the internet is able to go to interact with Mandiberg's vision. Millions of viewers are able to relate the high cost of oil to personal, material things.
This art work uses the most up to date form of the internet to relate to an issue of concern. Any US monetary value located on the internet is converted to barrels of oil. This means that the high cost of oil is emphasized in a variety of areas. Any value from someone's bank statement, to the price of a flight is drawn back to the issue of rising oil costs. In 2006, the range of things possible on the internet is almost endless. This art project shows how an issue can be applied to the almost endless amounts of information.