THE ESTATE OF GENERAL IDEA GI Photographs_FINAL | Page 26

V.B. GOWNS, 1975-80
General Idea’s early works (1969–1984) mimicked popular
culture formats, such as beauty pageants and mainstream
magazines, in order to forward a critical and satirical view of
art, culture and media. Their series of faux beauty pageants,
begun in 1970, satirized glamour, fame and the art world.
The notion of glamour, the myth of the artist, and the
character they created, “Miss General Idea,” became key
motifs in the group’s iconography and mythology.
Left: General Idea, Massing Studies for The Pavillion #1
(V.B. Gowns), 1975, red and black baked aluminum venetian
blind slats with chains, 193 x 113,5 x 115,5 cm (GI 316)
Right: General Idea, Massing Studies for The Pavillion #2
(V.B. Gowns), 1975, red baked aluminum venetian blind slats
with chains, 137 x 73,5 x 86 cm (GI 317)
General Idea staged a “pageant rehearsal” at Walker Court
at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto on September 18,
1975, called Going Thru the Motions. Performed for an
audience of 698 of “Toronto’s elaborately costumed avant-
garde,” the event captured all the clichés of the pageant
format, and revolved around rehearsing the audience’s
reactions to prepare for their next beauty pageant, The
1984 Miss General Idea Pageant, which they imagined
would be held in a pavilion of their own design and
construction, known as The 1984 Miss General Idea
Pageant Pavillion. There were five audience rehearsals but
the ultimate 1984 pageant did not actually occur.
Going Thru the Motions was the grandest of all the
pageant rehearsals, performed on a stage and a runway,
with AA Bronson as Master of Ceremonies. General Idea’s
V.B. Gowns made their first appearance during the “Parade
Exhibition view: The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, Art
Gallery of York University, Toronto, 2009
of the Contestants” sequence, modelled by six anonymous
women and one child on the runway, presented as stand-
ins for the future beauty pageant contestants. Reminiscent
of the highly structured 1940s era silhouette, each gown was made of manipulated Venetian blinds (hence V.B.),
fashioned into two stacked triangular – or ziggurat – shapes, which completely covered the head, leaving only the
arms and legs visible. Each gown was unique, and varied in color and pattern, ranging from pink and black striped,
to solid black, red and white.
The V.B. Gowns functioned conceptually on several levels: parodying fashion models and the notion of
glamour, as well as being, according to the group, “an architectural massing study” for the 1984 Miss General
Idea Pageant Pavillion. “Massing” is an architectural term that refers to the perception of the general shape
and form of a building, and thus a massing study is a three-dimensional articulation of a prospective structure.
Initiated in 1973 as conceptual project, General Idea conceived of faux architectural blueprints, designs, objects
and decorations, imagining the Pavillion to take the form of a ziggurat – the ancient temple structure that was
common in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq and western Iran). The ziggurat motif first appeared in a series of
paintings Felix Partz created between 1968–89 inspired by Islamic patterns, and soon became a key symbol in
General Idea’s iconography.
The gowns became the subject of innumerable General Idea photo shoots, such appearing on models skiing
at Lake Louise, Banff in their videotape Pilot (1977), as well as related photographs; the performance (and
videotape) General Idea’s Hot Property! (1977), Showcard Series (1975–79) and Photo Postcard Project
(1972–ca. 1980). The V.B. Gowns were publicly worn for the last time in a self-organized performance/
intervention at the 39th Venice Biennale in 1980.
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