AMERICAN VOTERS are being urged to ignore both George Bush and Bill Clinton in November's presidential poll and send controversial gangster rapper Ice-T to the White House instead.
The latest issue of Rock n Roll Confidential - an influential radical US music newsletter -carries a full page article entitled 10 Reasons To Write-In Ice-T For President. Under the American electoral system, it is legal to amend ballot papers to include additional candidates, with all votes duly recorded.
Ice-T is currently at the centre of a furore over hislatest album Body Count, withdrawn by the record company after widespread protests over a song titled Cop Killer.• But while the man is possibly suspect on law and order issues, Rock n Roll Confidential is adamant he is the perfect peace and justice candidate Unlike Bill Clinton, he has never personally overseen the execution of any citizen, let alone one with brain damage. Unlike George Bush, Dan Quayle, and Al Gore, he has never instigated a purposeless war where several hundred thousand innocent people died.' Ice-T is the unity candidate. He's a rapper and a rocker. That means he's comfortable speaking to both white American dike either of his oppone RRC argues an Ice-T presidency would mean both the most exciting inaugural speech since Abraham Lincoln, and guaranteed social change in America: "The guy's probably never so much as voted himself, which means none of the idiocy and corruption of our present government is in any way his fault!
There is, however, a serious point behind this rather splendid joke. Most radical US publications are backing Bill Clinton's Democrat ticket in this autumn's presidential election, sitting Republican George Bush's right-wing 'God and family platform.
But RRC points out that Tipper Gore, wife of Clinton's vice-presidential running mate Al, is a central leader of the Parents' Music Resource Centre, the campaign that has succeeded in getting ostensibly obscene or blasphemous records banned from most mainstream outlets.
In an editorial slamming the 'lesser of two evils' position, RRC argues: "To vote for Clinton and Gore is to agree that America's health is declining not because governors and senators work to enrich the wealthy and punish the poor, but because rappers and rockers say bad words on their records.
'If you want a morally healthy America, tell Al and Tipper and their friends... to go fück themselves, and set to work creating a system that features real choices for a change! Absolutely spot on.
Interestingly, Ice T himself has not totally ruled out running. In the only known statement of his political philosophy, he succinctly notes: We've got two options, voting or hostile takeover. I'm down with either one.' the 1920s. He said, 'New political problems demand new means of propaganda. For this task photography possesses the greatest powers of persuasion.' From 1930 to 1938 Heartfield worked on a regular basis for Arbeiter IIlustrierte Zietung (Workers IIlustrated Times). AIZ which was founded by Willi Munzenburg in the 1920s.
Its name was changed to Volks Illustrierte in 1936 (Peoples Illustrated). The change of name was a reflection of the popular front strategy against fascism adopted by Moscow in 1935.
When Hitler took power in 1933, Heartfield and the AIZ fled to Prague.
Heartfield escaped Prague in 1938 and fled to London where he lived until after the war.
Even with his anti-Nazi credentials he was briefly interned in 1940, but complaints in the House of Commons meant he was released on health grounds.
Heartfield settled in the GDR in Berlin in 1950 and worked with Brecht and the Berliner ensemble. He died in East Berlin in 1968.
Part of the exhibition at the Barbican is an exact recreation of a room at the film and photo exhibition that took place in Stuttgart in 1929 which gives you a real feel for the way Heartfield worked and the way in which he wished that work displayed.
Also part of the exhibition is a video documentarv bv GorilNo. 27
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