The Great Recession

Work by Michael Mandiberg

April 1 – June 13, 2010

The Great Recession is an exhibition of new work by Michael Mandiberg exploring the psychic implications of this most recent burp by the American economy, late Capitalism, gold hoarding, and the end of an empire. He says of his work: “I am an a appropriationist at heart. I derive visual inspiration from the internet, conceptual art, design, the end of print, and the dying American empire. My work is both formal and poetic. I use words and symbols as tools to provoke reflection on our society and its effluvia.”

Michael Mandiberg is an artist, programmer, designer and educator. His work varies from web applications about environmental impact to conceptual performances about subjectivity, to sculptures made from laser cut reference books. His recent projects include Security Patterns, a series of laser burned drawings and found reference books laser cut with poetic epigrams, HowMuchItCosts.us, a car direction site that incorporates the financial and carbon cost of driving, and the groundbreaking textbook Digital Foundations: an Intro to Media Design that teaches formal principles through design software. Recent projects include “The Real Costs,” a browser plug-in that inserts carbon footprints into airplane travel & car directions websites, and Oil Standard, a browser plug-in that converts all prices on any web page in their equivalent value in barrels of oil.

He is well known for his year long performance and e-commerce website Shop Mandiberg, which marketed and sold all of his possessions, and for AfterSherrieLevine.com, where he made available hi-resolution scans of the Walker Evans images rephotographed by Sherrie Levine, complete with certificates of authenticity to be signed by the user themselves. The Essential Guide to Performing Michael Mandiberg, an extensive DIY guide prepared for a life art performance was included by the Electronic Literature Organization as one of the foundational works of electronic literature to be included in the Library of Congress. From 2001 to 2006 he edited the Calls and Opps list, the most popular email list for calls for work and artist opportunities.

image: Merrill Lynch – The Total Money Makeover
6 × 9 × 1 inches, 2009;
one 200+ books from FDIC Insured.
Photo: CC-BY-SA Michael Mandiberg.

Ticket info: Free and open to the public.