General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E.K. Smith
Before General Idea
The three individuals who became General Idea were Ronald Gabe (1945–1994),
Slobodan Saia-Levy (1944–1994), and Michael Tims (b. 1946). They met in Toronto in
1969, drawn to the city’s blossoming countercultural scene, and later took the names
Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal, and AA Bronson, respectively. General Idea started as an
anonymous group before crystallizing into an intentional three-part group.2
LEFT: Felix Partz wearing a monkey-fur coat, Toronto, c. 1970, photograph by Jorge Zontal CENTRE: Photograph of Jorge Zontal, c. 1972, photographer unknown
RIGHT: Photograph of AA Bronson, 1969, photograph by Jorge Zontal. This detail is from an installation of a series of portraits of Bronson by Zontal, entitled photographs. The
complete series has since been lost
Gabe (Felix Partz) was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He studied at the University
of Manitoba School of Art.3 In an episode that prefigures General Idea’s early work in
the 1970s, in 1967 Gabe made photocopies of famous works by artists for a printmaking
class, including pieces by Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Frank Stella (b. 1936), Nicholas
Krushenick (1929–1999), Richard Smith (b. 1931), and Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997).
He playfully titled this conceptual project Some Art That I Like.4 In 1968 Gabe travelled
to Europe and Tangiers. Upon his return to Winnipeg, he created a series of ziggurat
paintings, which were inspired by Islamic patterns he had viewed on his travels. General
Idea later used ziggurat imagery in their work. In 1969 Gabe travelled to Toronto to visit
his friend Mimi Paige at Rochdale College—ultimately, he remained in the city and made
it his home.5
4