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General Idea was a
collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...
of three
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
artists, Felix Partz,
Jorge Zontal Slobodan Saia-Levy (born 1944 in Parma, Italy – February 3, 1994), publicly known as his pseudonym Jorge Zontal, was a Canadian artist. Life Zontal was born in Parma, Italy, in 1944, the son of Yugoslav refugees. He grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, ...
and
AA Bronson AA Bronson (born Michael Tims in Vancouver in 1946) is an artist. He was a founding member of the artists' group General Idea, was president and director of Printed Matter, Inc., and started the NY Art Book Fair and the LA Art Book Fair. Ea ...
, who were active from 1967 to 1994. As pioneers of early conceptual and media-based art, their collaboration became a model for artist-initiated activities and continues to be a prominent influence on subsequent generations of artists. Initially working in Toronto, from 1968 through 1993 they divided their time between Toronto and New York before returning to Toronto for the last few months of their time together. General Idea's work inhabited and subverted forms of popular and media culture, including boutiques, television talk shows, trade fair pavilions, mass media and beauty pageants. The beauty pageant, ''The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant,'' allowed for both male and female artist to send in pictures of them wearing the taffeta dress provided. Their work was often presented in unconventional media forms such as postcards, prints, posters, wallpaper, balloons, crests and pins. Self-mythology was a continuous strategy that informed their work. They created a fictional system that self-referenced and self-legitimized, claiming a space for their local art scene in Canada. Their intent was to reach a greater audience and so their work moved from art galleries and museums to newsstands. This ensured that different types of people who spent time in different places could have a psychological or social reaction in a place comfortable to them. General Idea initially portrayed themselves as an ambiguous group, but soon realized it was causing confusion with the public. This led to a series of self portrayal or marketing images including "Fin de Siècle". From 1987 through 1994 their work addressed the
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
crisis, with work that included some 75 temporary public art projects. Their major installation, ''One Year of AZT/One Day of AZT'', was featured as a project at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
and now resides in the collection of the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
. In 2006 the three giant inflatable pills from their 1991 work ''PLA©EBO'' were displayed during Toronto's
Nuit blanche Nuit Blanche () (White Night) is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the ...
. After publishing ''
FILE Megazine ''FILE Megazine'' (published 1972–1989) was a quarterly, then irregularly published art and culture magazine, written, edited and published primarily by members of General Idea (there were guest contributors throughout its run, and later on, some ...
'' for two years and amassing a large collection of artists books and multiples, General Idea founded Art Metropole in 1974, a non-profit space dedicated to contemporary art in multiple format: artists books, multiples, video, audio and electronic media. Both Partz and Zontal died of
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
in 1994. Bronson continues to work and exhibit as an independent artist, and was the director of
Printed Matter, Inc Printed Matter, Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit grant-supported bookstore, artist organization, and arts space which publishes and distributes artists' books. It is currently located at 231 11th Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood of N ...
in New York between 2006 and 2011. The General Idea archive now resides at the Library and Archives of the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
. In June 2022, the National Gallery of Canada launched a major retrospective show of the group's work.


Pre-General Idea

AA Bronson (aka Michael Tims, b June 16, 1946, Vancouver, British Columbia) attended the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...
in the School of Architecture. He dropped out of university with a group of friends to found a commune and free school. There, he became involved in writing and publishing as an editor for the Loving Couch Press. He became heavily involved with the commune and radical education movements. Felix Partz (aka Ronald Gabe, b April 23, 1945, Winnipeg Canada; d 1994, Toronto Canada) was also a student at the University of Manitoba, studying painting under Kenneth Lochhead and developed a casual acquaintance with Bronson there. Jorge Zontal (aka Slobodan Saia-Levy b January 28, 1944, Parma Italy; d 1994, Toronto Canada) arrived in Caracas, Venezuela as a post-
WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
. He later went to
Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...
to study architecture, and became increasingly involved with
filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
. This interest took him to New York to take acting lessons. By 1968, he studied video recording at
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
, and had established links with the Vancouver art scene. He took a workshop with dancer
Deborah Hay Deborah Hay (born 1941) is an American choreographer, dancer, dance theorist, and author working in the field of experimental postmodern dance. She is one of the original founders of the Judson Dance Theater. Hay's signature slow and minimal da ...
at
Intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...
. He briefly met Bronson while in Vancouver.


Meeting in Toronto

Bronson came to Toronto in 1969, specifically to investigate and participate in the
Rochdale College Rochdale College was an experiment in student-run alternative education and housing cooperative, co-operative living in Toronto, Canada from 1968 to 1975. It provided space for 840 residents in a co-operative living space. It was also an inform ...
experiment. Partz's then-girlfriend Mimi Paige was involved in Rochdale College, and Partz arrived in Toronto the same year, both to visit Paige and to find a gallerist. Zontal also arrived in Toronto in 1969, with the intention of filming a documentary at
Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is on Ryerson Avenue in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood of Toronto. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theat ...
. Page, Partz, Bronson and Zontal all subsequently became involved in the scene in and surrounding Passe Muraille, which forged their initial collaboration. Before long, the four, along with actor
Danny Freedman Danny Freedman was a Canadians, Canadian actor. He was best known for his performance as Mona in the film ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'', for which he won the Canadian Film Award for Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Acto ...
, moved into a house at 78 Gerrard St, which eventually became the first General Idea Headquarters. Their neighbour from across the street, Sharon Venne (aka Granada Venne or Granada Gazelle), quickly became a part of the group. The name General Idea was, in fact, the result of a miscommunication at their first group exhibition, ''Concept 70''.
A Space A Space is a Canadian artist-run centre located in Toronto, Ontario Background The gallery originated as the Nightingale Arts Council in 1970, and was founded in 1971. The name ''A Space Gallery'' was first used when the gallery established itse ...
listed the title of the group's work as the name of the collective, and the mistake stuck. Bronson would later joke that it was a reference to the "general idea" of the group's work.


Early Work (1969–1975)

The central themes that would preoccupy General Idea throughout their career – self-mythologization, spectacle, appropriation,
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
, media
deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...
, an ironic interest in commerce and the
semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...
of advertising language – were clearly present in the early days of the group. They shared an interest in the forms and methods of
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
and
mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
, and were influenced by the writing of
Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan (, ; July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media studies, media theory. Raised in Winnipeg, McLuhan studied at the University of Manitoba a ...
,
William Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and ...
, and by the
Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...
. The earliest activities of the group involved the use of their home: creating ersatz commercial shops, only visible to the general public through the street-facing window (a sign was always posted saying that the store would be open in 5 minutes), and creating installations and hosting exhibitions in their living room. They worked on an uncompleted film (''God is my Gigolo'', 1969) which starred the five cohabitants, and also included Honey Novick and Tina Miller. Bronson executed a series of chain-letter mail art projects, sparked by his interest in correspondence networks and mail art. It was via this participation in mail-art correspondence networks that the members of the group began using
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
s. Gabe became Private Partz, then Felicks Partz, then Felix Partz. Tims took on the name AA Bronson while co-writing an erotic novel with Susan Harrison (AA Bronson was a confusion of his nom de plume which stuck), and Saia-Levy became Jorge Zontal after a popular jazz song "I Just Want to be Horizontal".


''What Happened'' (1970)

''What Happened'' was a multimedia event organized for the International Festival of Underground Theatre at the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts and the Global Village Theatre in Toronto. The group's contribution was a multi-part performance based on
Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and ...
's first play (also called ''What Happened''). The whole play, in 5 acts and 4 intermissions, was spread across the three weeks of the festival. Events happened both within and without the theatre centre, variously documented by tape recorder,
Polaroid camera Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polaro ...
s, sketch pads and VTR recorders . The documentation was sent to the theatre and displayed there. Among the performances that occurred during one of the intermissions was the ''1970 Miss General Idea Pageant'', which "crowned" Novick as Miss General Idea 1970. Paige and Gazelle were revealed as Miss General Ideas 1968 and 1969 (an inclusion that gave rise to the fiction that General Idea was formed in 1968).


Mail Art Projects (1970–71)

General Idea initiated two large-scale mail art projects: the ''Orgasm Energy Chart'' (inviting participants to log the time and date of their orgasms) and ''Manipulating the Self: Phase 1 – A Borderline Case'' (1970–71). Participants were asked to photograph themselves holding the side of their head, and send the documentation to General Idea (who had since left their Gerrard St location for 87 Yonge St). The results were published in an eponymous pamphlet. Participation in these projects was facilitated via contact with
Ray Johnson Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson (October 16, 1927 – January 13, 1995) was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as < ...
and his New York Correspondence School and the foundation of Image Bank by Michael Morris, Gary Lee-Nova and Vincent Trasov – all General Idea collaborators/participants – in Vancouver.


''The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant''

Performed at the
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...
, the Pageant was General Idea's major project for the year, created via the mail art network. Sixteen finalists were pre-selected, and sent an Entry Kit by mail. The kit was a box, silkscreened with the Pageant logo, containing various items: a brown dress (''the Miss General Idea Gown''), a typed letter of invitation by Granada Gazelle (Miss General Idea 1969), a General Idea business card, the Pageant program, an application form, an acceptance card, and photographs of Miss Honey (Miss General Idea 1970) and the ''Artist's Conception of Miss General Idea 1971''. Finalists were asked to respond with a series of photographs of themselves modelling the ''Miss General Idea Gown''. Of the sixteen people contacted, thirteen people responded. One person – artist Janis Campbell – refused, accusing the group of being "male chauvinist pigs." General Idea took her response as an entry. The pageant was conceived of and executed as if it was a live-broadcast televised spectacle, and appropriated all of its conventions, including glamorous pre-show red carpet arrival. Audience reactions and cues were rehearsed. The judges for the Pageant were Dorothy Cameron, an art consultant, and David Silcox, a former visual arts officer of the Canada Council, the then-Dean of the Fine Art Department at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
. The Pageant, while successful, was an enormous undertaking. The members of General Idea decided that they couldn't face organizing such an event on an annual basis. They decided that the next Pageant would take place in 1984, and the group's projects and performances would be either in service of, or explicit rehearsals for this moment. Furthermore, it would take place in a huge Pavillion (the largesse of it reflected in the tongue-in-cheek appropriation of the French spelling) built precisely for the purpose. The selection of the date of 1984 gave the group a kind of goal, or deadline: to stay together and work together until that year. The Pageant format, and the implied timeline set by the deadline of 1984, provided them with a kind of thematic universe in which all their media experiments could be collected. Conceptually, the Pageant concretized the various self-mythologizing aspects of the General Idea project: an inhabitation and ambiguous parodying of the creative processes of the artist and the fame/commercial processes of the art world.


''FILE Megazine'' (1972–1989)

In 1972, the group founded ''
FILE Megazine ''FILE Megazine'' (published 1972–1989) was a quarterly, then irregularly published art and culture magazine, written, edited and published primarily by members of General Idea (there were guest contributors throughout its run, and later on, some ...
''. The publication served a dual purpose. The editorials of the magazine elaborated the group's major ideas. It also initially served as way for members of the mail art network to keep in contact with each other, and as a record of their activities. The magazine quickly garnered a worldwide following. The name and design of the magazine were meticulous spoofs of
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
, and the collective hoped to use the visual familiarity as "a kind of virus within the communication systems." In volume 3, no. 1: The Glamour Issue (1975), they asserted that "in order to be glamorous we had to become plagiarists." ''FILE'' ran for 26 issues, and was instrumental in the formation of a network of
Canadian Artist-run centres Canadian artist-run centres (ARC or ARCs) are galleries and art spaces developed by artists in Canada since the 1960s. The artist-run centre is the common term of use for artist-initiated and managed organizations in Canada. Most centres follow the ...
, serving as a vehicle for artist's projects and the "wisecracks, wordplay, and cryptic layers of fact and fiction" of General Idea's self-mythologizing sensibilities.


''The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion''

In 1973, as the mail-art phenomenon had begun to fade, General Idea switched their focus towards the creation of the ''1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion''. The group began to create a series of architectural proposals that articulated various aspects of the Pavillion. The first realized installation was ''Luxon VB'', a set of double-sided mirrored Venetian blind slats. They also collected a series of
talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
s: ''The Hand of the Spirit'' (an effete, arched hand made of plexiglas and mounted on a wand-like handle, which originally appeared in Vincent Trasov's entry for the ''1971 Miss General Idea Pageant'') and ''The Miss General Idea Shoe''. This was all under the rubric of the Search for the Spirit of Miss General Idea – in the group's conceptual framework, an analogy for artistic inspiration and research. This framework served as a structuring principle for future performances (which continued to take the form of audience rehearsals). In 1974, General Idea opened Art Metropole, an archive, shop and distribution centre for artist's multiples and ephemera. The announcement came via ''FILE Megazine'': "Art Metropole intends to keep abreast of the tide, housing and distributing evidence of activity and imagery: megazines ic publications, videos, correspondence, snapshots, memories and the ephemeral flood.". The shop opened on October 26 of that year, the occasion used as another opportunity to rehearse the public for the 1984 Miss General Idea Pageant. In 1975, the group staged another performance, ''Going Thru the Motions'', again at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Similar in structure to the ''1971 Miss General Idea Pageant'' (this time including a crew of 40 people, including cameramen who recorded everything, and all the trappings of pageant or awards-show glamour), this was another audience rehearsal. The evening featured a parade of the ''VB Gowns'' (a series of
ziggurat A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude'), ( Persian: Chogha Zanbilچغازنجبیل) is a type of massive ...
-shaped 'gowns' made of manipulated Venetian blind slats) and a performance by
Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...
. ''Going Thru the Notions'' was shown at the Carmen Lamanna Gallery in the same year. The exhibition was a summary of the group's thinking around the 1984 Miss General Idea project. It featured architectural blueprints, the ''Pavillion Hoarding'' (installed outside the storefront window of the gallery), as well as their ''Showcards Series'' (1975–79), an articulation of themes and beliefs central to the overarching Miss General Idea project.


1975-1985

The group announced, via a huge performance (done as part of a residency in Kingston, Ontario), the destruction of the ''1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion'' in 1977. The performance was spectacular, featuring smoke-bombs, fire trucks and a newscast helicopter. The destruction of the ''Pavillion'' coincided with the group's increasing profile, both in Canada and in Europe. As they kept having more shows, the performative destruction allowed them to shift roles as artists, from self-styled architects to archeologists, and gave them a conceptual grounding to shift into a more object-based art practice (as had begun to happen with the ''Showcards'' and the architectural "features" of the ''Pavillion''-to-be). A series of sculptures, prints and paintings were created as "fragments" or "ruins" of the destroyed ''Pavillion''. The group used these fragments to further play with then-outré concepts: glamour,
effeminacy Effeminacy or male femininity is the embodiment of feminine traits in boys or men, particularly those considered untypical of men or masculinity. These traits include roles, stereotypes, behaviors, and appearances that are socially associated wi ...
, camp and kitsch, and by extension, homosexuality. The group adopted the poodle as their mascot. The animal appeared as a constantly repeating motif. It also served as a symbol not only of self-identification, but also as a vessel through which the group could continue their strategy of media appropriation, which in turn allowed them to respond to the artistic exigencies of operating within the larger international gallery world. The poodle images were vehicles for a series of stylistic appropriations, for instance, the orgiastic Neo-Geo ''Mondo Cane Kama Sutra'' paintings. The group also created a series of videos in this period. ''Pilot'' (1977) was commissioned by
TVOntario TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian Public broadcasting, publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates ...
, ''Test Tube'' (1979) was created during a residency at the
De Appel De Appel is a contemporary arts centre, located in Amsterdam. Since it was founded in 1975 by , the goal of De Appel is to function as a stage for research and presentation of visual arts. Exhibitions, publications and discursive events are the ...
Gallery and produced for Dutch television. ''Shut the Fuck Up'' (1984) was likewise commissioned by De Appel, this time in collaboration with Time Based Arts, also for Dutch television. ''Pilot,'' an appropriation of the
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
format, is a further elaboration of the General Idea identity. ''Test Tube'' (a faux-soap opera, complete with commercials) and ''Shut the Fuck Up'' are deconstructions of and confrontations with the media distortion of the persona of the artist. The group had been, throughout their career thus far, making multiples and editions, each of which was a further elaboration of, or in some way tied to an existing General Idea work. For instance, the products discussed in the ''Test Tube'' video "commercials" were turned into actual multiples (and by extension, the text of the commercials became the ''Getting Into the Spirits Cocktail Book'', an ersatz cocktail recipe book). In 1980, the group created the ''Boutique of the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion''. It functioned as both a display strategy and potential point of sale for General Idea's multiples.


''AIDS'' and ''IMAGEVIRUS'': 1986-1994

General Idea's attention was increasingly focused on New York, specifically the downtown art scene. The eventual move to New York City was precipitated by an increase anti-LGBT policing in Toronto at the time (Zontal was caught in one of the routine bathhouse raids performed by police), by a backlash in Toronto against non-material art practices, as well as the group's perceived disproportionate ubiquity and clout in the city's small art scene. They relocated to New York City in 1986.


AIDS Paintings and ''IMAGEVIRUS''

The first AIDS painting was created for an
amfAR amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of ...
benefit. It is an appropriation of
Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. Indiana is mostly known for his iconic image LOVE which was first created in 1964 in the form of a card. India ...
's by-then ubiquitous LOVE logo (substituting, in the same visual arrangement and color composition, the letters L-O-V-E with A-I-D-S). General Idea intended for their AIDS logo to get "out of their control" and they found themselves successful when the logo showed up on lottery tickets, posters, and more. The group (knowing that the appropriation and the consequent image was in "bad taste") subsequently decided to repeat the image in a series of paintings. The initial painting was painted on a white canvas in red lettering. It was then changed to exhibit different colored backgrounds with different colored lettering. In one example, the lettering of AIDS was painted on a black and white canvas in gold. Due to the color scheme, it was not obvious to observers that the painting spelled AIDS. This painting was placed on a metal structure and was displayed around the world. Following the paintings, the AIDS logo was turned into a poster campaign called ''IMAGEVIRUS'', where the logo was wheatpasted along big sections of city blocks in New York and San Francisco (and then subsequently Berlin). The initial reception of the AIDS works was highly controversial, especially among
AIDS activists The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a preventable disease. It can ...
. To them, the General Idea AIDS logo was distanced and ironic, when what was called for was unambiguous and direct (in response,
Gran Fury Emerging from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) in 1988, Gran Fury was an AIDS activist artist collective from New York City consisting of 11 members including: Richard Elovich, Avram Finkelstein, Amy Heard, Tom Kalin, John Lindell, Lor ...
appropriated General Idea's AIDS logo and turned it into RIOT). With ''IMAGEVIRUS,'' activists interpreted General Idea as going against what activist artists should be doing, namely countering government neglect, providing safer-sex education and fighting for access to medical treatments. Furthermore, critics claimed that, in its repetitions, it drained the word of meaning at a time when a political battle being waged over the meaning of the disease itself. The ''IMAGEVIRUS'' campaign continued to proliferate: as a public art project, it was displayed on the Times Square Spectacolor Board, it adorned the sides of trams in Amsterdam, and was installed in the advertising windows in New York City Subway cars. The image proliferated further, as wallpaper, public sculpture, and, at the behest of medical and charitable organizations, as stamps, postcards, and other ephemera (the image was used on the cover of the
New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2023 impact factor was ...
, and remains the logo for Deutsche AIDS Hilfe).


Final Years: 1990-1994

With Partz and Zontal's AIDS diagnoses, the group continued to address the AIDS crisis in various ways. They created a large scale installation (''Fin de Siecle'', 1990): a faux
ice floe An ice floe () is a segment of floating ice defined as a flat piece at least across at its widest point, and up to more than across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cause ice jams on freshwate ...
created from sheets of styrofoam with three stuffed
harp seal The harp seal (''Pagophilus groenlandicus''), also known as the saddleback seal or Greenland seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus '' Phoca'' with a ...
s – a new form of animal familiar for General Idea – isolated at the installation's centre. It addresses the imminence of disaster, isolation and precarity/fragility (a photographic version of the installation was created in 1994, furthering the identification of the members of General Idea with the three endangered seals). The medical/pharmacological realities of daily coping with the disease also appeared in General Idea's work. The pill entered into the group's visual vocabulary, iterated and reiterated in various formats: as helium-filled balloons (a foil version of which was an appropriation
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's silver balloons), as a sculptural object of various dimensions (the group created large-scale installations illustrating Partz's and Zontal's
AZT Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent vertica ...
intake) and as a backdrop, featured in one of the group's self-portraits, ''Playing Doctor'' (1992), The group continued their practice of viral insertions/appropriations, recasting iconic images by
Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...
and
Gerrit Rietveld Gerrit Rietveld (24 June 1888 – 25 June 1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. Early life Rietveld was born in Utrecht on 24 June 1888 as the son of a joiner. He left school at 11 to be apprenticed to his father and enrolled at n ...
in the colors of the ''IMAGEVIRUS'' campaign. Partz had been commuting back and forth from Toronto to New York for most of this period. Due to his worsening health however, he remained in Toronto, eventually opting for home hospice care. Zontal and Bronson relocated to Toronto to join him in 1993. Both Zontal and Partz died in Toronto, in 1994.


Exhibitions

Retrospectives of General Idea's work continue to tour Europe and North America. ''General Idea Editions: 1967-1995'' was featured at the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville, Spain from 30 January - 1 April 2007 , and included a recreation of the installations ''Magic Bullet'' and ''Magic Carpet'', as well as the major installation ''Fin de Siècle''. Before that ''Editions'' was exhibited at the
Andy Warhol Museum The Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the largest museum in North America dedicated to a single artist. The museum holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archi ...
in Pittsburgh, the Munich Kunstverein, Kunstwerke (Berlin), and the
Kunsthalle Zürich The Kunsthalle Zürich is a kunsthalle (a contemporary art exhibition centre) in Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 1985, it is located on Limmatstrasse, near the city centre. A number of temporary exhibitions are organized each year. Directors * ...
, Switzerland. General Idea has been featured in the Paris, Sydney, São Paulo and Venice Biennales, as well as at
Documenta 8 documenta 8 was the eighth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 12 June and 20 September 1987 in Kassel, West Germany. The artistic directors were Manfred Schneckenburger and Edward F. Fry. P ...
in Kassel, Germany. Their work continues to be exhibited in group and solo shows worldwide. Recent career retrospectives include ''Haute Couture'' at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, and subsequently toured to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2010-2011. They had their first Latin American museum show/retrospective, ''General Idea: Tiempo Partido'' at
Museo Jumex Museo may refer to: * ''Museum'' (2018 film), Mexican drama heist film * Museo station, station on line 1 of the Naples Metro {{disambiguation ...
, Mexico City and
MALBA The Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (, mostly known for its acronym MALBA) is an art museum located on Figueroa Alcorta Avenue, in the Palermo, Buenos Aires, Palermo section of Buenos Aires. History Created by Argentina, Argentine busin ...
, Buenos Aires, in 2016-2017. They continue to have solo exhibitions at Esther Schipper Gallery (Berlin), Mai 36 Galerie (Zürich),
Maureen Paley Maureen Paley (born 1953Sleeman, Elizabeth (ed.) ''The International Who's Who of Women'' (London and New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 431. Entry on Paley available as snippet viehere/ref>) is the American owner of a contemporary art gallery in Be ...
(London) an
Mitchell-Innes and Nash
A touring career retrospective, ''General Idea'', was on exhibition at the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
until November 20, 2022. It ran at the
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
(Amsterdam) from April to mid-July 2023, and is set to run at the
Martin Gropius Bau Martin-Gropius-Bau, commonly known as Gropius Bau, is an important exhibition space in Berlin, Germany. Originally a museum of applied arts, the building has been a listed historical monument since 1966. It is located at 7 Niederkirchnerstraße ...
(Berlin) from late September 2023 to January 2024 as one of the most comprehensive retrospectives of the collective's work. A comprehensive and expansive catalogue was published on the occasion, published by JRP Editions.


Legacy

General Idea is widely recognized as a leading part of a branch of a conceptual art movement that embraced the expression of ideas in multiple media. They were instrumental in the creation and elaboration of Canadian artist-run culture. They are represented in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
, the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
(New York), the
Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
(Amsterdam). The estate of General Idea is represented by the Esther Schipper Gallery, Berlin, Maureen Paley, London, Galerie MAI 36, Zurich and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York. The General Idea archives is currently housed by the Library of the National Gallery of Canada, on long-term loan. General Idea appears in
Derek May Derek May (1932–1992) was a Canadian animation, dramatic and documentary film director who worked primarily for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Originally a painter, his first film with the NFB was the 1966 experimental short, ''Angel''. ...
's 1981 documentary film on the Toronto art scene, ''
Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, and the first produced by Quincy Jones, whom he met ...
''. In 2003 a catalogue of their editions and multiples was published on the occasion of an exhibition curated by Fern Bayer. She also edited the publication. In 2022, the reading room of the Library and Archives of the National Gallery of Canada was renamed the General Idea Reading Room. The General Idea Fellowship, a stipendium-based research fellowship, was established in May of 2022.


See also

*
FILE Megazine ''FILE Megazine'' (published 1972–1989) was a quarterly, then irregularly published art and culture magazine, written, edited and published primarily by members of General Idea (there were guest contributors throughout its run, and later on, some ...
* ''Eye' Magazine *
List of Eye magazine issues ''Eye'' magazine is a quarterly print magazine on graphic design and visual culture. History First published in London in 1990, ''Eye'' was founded by Rick Poynor, a prolific writer on graphic design and visual communication. Poynor edited th ...


Further reading

Smith, Sarah E.K.
General Idea: Life & Work
'. Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2016.


References


External links


General Idea: Life & Work
by Sarah E.K. Smith published by the
Art Canada Institute Art Canada Institute is a bilingual, non-profit research organization that aims to promote and support the study of Canadian art history. It has been described as “a comprehensive, multi-tiered, online-based resource for the general public on Can ...
.
General Idea

AA Bronson


on General Idea an

by the group at
Electronic Arts Intermix Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit arts organization that is a resource for video and media art. An advocate of media art and artists since 1971, EAI's core program is the distribution and preservation of a colle ...
br>eai.org


at the
National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...
, Ottawa, Ontario.
General Idea fonds
at the National Gallery of Canada.

at the National Gallery of Canada.

at the National Gallery of Canada. {{Authority control Canadian artist groups and collectives LGBTQ art in Canada LGBTQ collectives Canadian contemporary artists