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Variant
18 Autumn 2003
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Cover
by Dominic Thackray
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"When examined,
answer with questions."
Susannah Thompson interviews Jenny Holzer
Susannah Thompson interviews Jenny Holzer and works to pin down
Holzer's views on the institutional and incidental contexts of her
practice. Not an easy job...
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Bob-a-Job
AWoL
An overdue exposé of the privatisation of the Welfare
system in the UK, and the involvement of PPPs in forcing people
into low paid work. AWoL exposes the underlying intimidation and
bullying in WorkingLinks' profiteering from the poverty of others.
If you are a claimant, you must read this!
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illustrations by
Paul Bommer http://www.paulbommer.com
Poverty, Inequality & Minimum Income
Donnie Nicolson
Nicolson attacks the Blairite rhetoric on poverty, exposing
new Labour's failure to genuinely get people out of poverty and
low levels of income, especially the young.
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Figures of dissent
Liam O'Ruairc
A review of Terry Eagleton's latest collection of essays which
deal with the innovative, more practical and political theoretical
currents that have appeared over the last two decades -- in particular
those of Spivak and Zizek.
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Video purified
of television
On why video art wants to be boring
John Beagles & Dave Beech
An extensive article into why video art seeks to annihilate
the pleasures associated with TV and the movies, preferring instead
contemplative or meditative subjects, doing without narrative, dialogue
and character.
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The world he
has lost
Dave Hickey's beauty treatment
Grant Kester
Critical overview of the neo-conservative conception of beauty
formed in the US in the 1990s -- one that attempts to preserve the
magical power of the artwork, the artist as heroic visionary, the
primacy of taste, and the aristocratic pleasures of the connoisseur.
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Blood curdling
Tom Jennings
Review of 'Resist: Protest', Crescent Arts, Scarborough -- critical
reflections on what politics in art might entail these days?
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Putting Paid
to War
Variant interviews 'At Ease'
Variant interviews 'At Ease' -- the independent, confidential
advice and counselling service to members of the UK armed forces
-- on the issues of conscientious objection, recruitment of ethnic
minorities, bonded servitude and human rights.
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Crisis of Islamic
Fundamentalism in Iran
Yassamine Mather
An exposé of the failings of political Islam in both
economic and political spheres in Iran, and how it is increasingly
becoming a capitalist dictatorship with strong nationalist and religious
overtones.
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From Porridge
to Pelf
Young Adam and the Mysterious Scottish Film Industry
Mike Small
"Is that body floating just beneath the surface our very
own 'film industry' drowned by cultural stinginess, lack of vision
and a hopeless lack of aspiration?"
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Shell-shocked
art
Doug Aubrey
A personal account of Soba, the rock'n'roll star, the artist,
the soldier, the cartoon character, and the complete media whore.
A testament to the humour and resilience of the human spirit.
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Bosnia now =
no future / no past
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the spring of 2003
Zlatko Hadzidedic
A detailed account of the outcome of the division of B&H and
the creation of ethnically pure territories, where the past was
forcefully expelled from public discourse by the'international community'
amid claims that any reference to the past inevitably leads to new
war.
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Wood Pulp and
Glue
The Uncertain Future of Ideas
Gavin Jones
An argument against the prevailing business sense in the publishing
industry -- one that is wilfully undermining a rich, diverse future
in order to pursue quick returns.
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I am a cliché
David Adam
A personal account of the abhorrent changes to incapacity benefit
and how it is affecting those with mental health issues -- the imposition
of compulsory medical questionnaire forms and medical examinations,
and the shift from therapy to work.
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Supplement:
Document 1
International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
19–22nd September 2003 • UGC, Glasgow
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