General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E.K. Smith
General Idea, Mimi, 1968–69, fluorescent acrylic and latex on canvas,
301 x 201.8 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. This is one in a series of ziggurat
paintings Felix Partz completed upon returning to Canada after travelling to Europe
and Tangiers. The series was later appropriated into the oeuvre of General Idea
Mimi Paige and Felix Partz at 78 Gerrard Street West, Toronto, c. 1969, photograph
by Jorge Zontal. Gerrard Street West had a brief period as the Carnaby Street of
Toronto, with quirky fashion and flowers painted on the street. By 1969 it had been
forgotten, and General Idea and friends moved into this little abandoned storefront
Saia-Levy (Jorge Zontal) was born to Yugoslavian-Jewish parents in a
concentration camp in Parma, Italy, just as the Second World War was ending.6 After
living in Switzerland, Yugoslavia, and Israel, Saia-Levy and his family were eventually
accepted as immigrants in Venezuela and settled in Caracas. He moved to Halifax, Nova
Scotia, in the 1960s to study architecture at Dalhousie University. He also studied film
and theatre, travelling to New York City on a regular basis to pursue acting lessons. In
the late 1960s Saia-Levy studied video at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver
and took performance classes with dancer Deborah Hay (b. 1941) at Intermedia.7 This
travel to Vancouver was significant, as it led to Saia-Levy’s first meeting with Tims, who
was there teaching a workshop at SFU. In 1968 Saia-Levy left Halifax with the intention
of moving to Vancouver for good. Like Gabe, his stay in Toronto became permanent.8
It was at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto where Saia-Levy met Tims again and was
introduced to Gabe.
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