Taking its title from a term Karl Marx used to explain how value is produced in a commodity, "Variable Capital" charts the strategies that artist have employed in order to redirect attention toward the usually invisible processes of exploitation and alienation underlying artistic production. Examining a range of international artists, including Common Culture, Richard Hughes, Melanie Jackson, Brian Ulrich, and Andy Warhol, much of the work discussed is characterized by a willingness to engineer awkward and embarrassing situations that challenge the viewer with uncomfortable realities. Many of...