General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E. K. Smith
General Idea, FILE Megazine,“ Mr. Peanut Issue,” vol. 1, no. 1( April 15, 1972), web offset periodical, thirty-two pages plus cover, black and white reproductions, with eight-page insert by Dana Atchley, edition of 3,000, various collections. On the cover of this issue is Vincent Trasov as Mr. Peanut, in a photograph taken by David Hlynsky
General Idea, 1-109 Three Blind Artists, 1979, chromogenic print, felt pen, and screen print on paperboard, 45.7 x 35.6 cm, edition of two with occasional artist’ s proofs, signed( rubber-stamped) and numbered, various collections, from Showcard Series, 1975 – 79
During the early 1970s General Idea founded two key institutions. The group expressed their interest in the appropriation of media formats in establishing FILE Megazine. Launched in 1972, the publication adopted the logo of the popular American news magazine LIFE. General Idea designed FILE to be a“ parasite within the magazine distribution system.” As Bronson explained,“ We knew that if it looked familiar, people would pick it up, and they did. We thought of it as a kind of virus within the communication systems, a concept that William Burroughs had written about in the early’ 60s.”
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The second institution was Art Metropole. By fall 1973, Partz, Zontal, and Bronson had moved the General Idea studio to the third floor of 241 Yonge Street, and they established Art Metropole in the front of the space. Art Metropole was a distribution centre and archive, which held various low-cost formats, including artists books, video and audio works as well as multiples. The aim of the institution was to create an alternative distribution system for art. Still operating today, Art Metropole holds an important place in the history of alternative arts venues in Canada.
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