Eyebeam Resident Michael Mandiberg presented a talk and workshop about his new project Real Costs. Attendees were encouraged to bring a laptop to play along. Programming knowledge was useful.

This hybrid talk/workshop included a 30 minute presentation of the project, and how it related to Michael’s previous work, followed by guided modding of the script. Michael provided a focused walk through of the code, and then set everyone free to make some modifications and provided feedback for the project.

Michael Mandiberg is an artist, computer programmer and rogue economist who uses the Internet, video and performance to explore subjectivity, labor and commerce. Michael’s most recent project, Oil Standard created a browser plug-in that converts all prices on any web page to their equivalent value in barrels of oil. He will continue this vein of work at Eyebeam, employing devices such as Firefox plug-ins and open API platforms to highlight real environmental costs in a global economy.