General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E.K. Smith
General Idea, Self-Portrait with Objects, 1981/82, gelatin silver print, 35.6 x 27.7 cm,
edition of ten (only one produced), signed and numbered, National Gallery of
Canada, Ottawa. The objects featured with Bronson, Zontal, and Partz are
representations of General Idea’s key works and iconography to date: FILE
Megazine; a V.B. Gown; a poodle, and the cocktail holders Liquid Assets,
Architectonic, and Magic Palette. This portrait demonstrates the self-reflective
direction that General Idea’s works took in the mid-1980s
General Idea, Nightschool, 1989, chromogenic print (Ektachrome), 95.5 x 76.7 cm,
edition of twelve plus one artist’s proof, signed and numbered, various collections.
From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s General Idea created a series of self-portraits
in which the artists projected a shared identity. Nightschool is just one in this series,
which includes P is for Poodle, 1983/89, and Playing Doctor, 1992. Here the artists
are dressed as college graduates with the Gothic tone of the work conveying the
horror of the AIDS epidemic
In 1985 General Idea was drawn to New York City.54 Bronson noted the
significance of displaying their work in 1986 at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo,
New York, and of representation by New York City gallery International With Monument.
The group recognized New York as a key site for the circulation of artists and curators
from Europe.
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They rented an apartment at 120 West 12th Street in 1986, eventually
adding a studio in the meat-packing district. Zontal spent more of his time in New York,
while Partz remained based in Toronto, and Bronson travelled between them.
To keep their collaboration going, they communicated through telephone calls,
faxes, frequent visits, and exhibition travel.
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As they had many international projects in
the seven years that followed, they spent much of their year together on the road.
Discussing their ability to work together despite geographical distance, they affirmed that
over the years General Idea had developed its own language and a group mind.
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