• Installation at Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, IN, 2014

  • The Big Mac Index, published by The Economist, is an informal way of measuring the purchasing parity between two currencies.

  • The chairman of the board of Estee Lauder proposes that lipstick sales are inversely related to economic health. Tubes of lipstick is purchased more than new outfits when household budgets are tight.

  • Increased purchasing of men’s underwear suggests the beginnings of an economic recovery.

  • The Starbuck’s Tall Latte Index is another means of measuring the purchasing parity between two currencies.

  • The price of a bottle of Coca-Cola is an alternative means of measuring the purchasing parity between two currencies.

  • Polling data suggests that bald politicians are not trusted to lead in a crisis.

  • The Neilson Company identified the trend of rising condom sales in a economic downturn, “proving what often occurs during economic downturns: People stay home.”

  • The price of a loaf of bread is a way to know if your politician is in touch with the common man.

  • The Billy Bookcase Index is another means of measuring the purchasing parity between two currencies.

Death of the Gold Standard: 2013

On August 15, 1971, President Nixon announced that the United States would no longer officially trade dollars for gold. Although the US had abandoned the gold standard in the early twentieth century, this announcement completely severed the relationship between the dollar and the gold market thus creating the environment for the credit crisis of our current times.

The Economist introduced the Big Mac Index in 1986 as a comparison device for currency across cultures. In our global culture, the price of a standardized item can be used to illuminate multiple economic conditions: labor, trade, trends, and economic health. Death of the Gold Standard investigates various indices, by asking, How can we make value tangible? We strive to understand equivalence through everyday data points and alternative metrics. Click the blue circle in the bottom right of each image for caption information.

This project is generously supported by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

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