General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E . K . Smith
Appropriation Appropriation is central to many of General Idea ’ s artworks . The group drew on formats and aesthetics from sources in popular culture and fine art . Through mimicry , General Idea played with viewer ’ s expectations , reworking familiar forms — from beauty pageants to works of Pop art — in order to prompt critical reflection .
FILE Megazine is a prominent example of General Idea ’ s appropriation of popular culture formats . FILE mimicked the name and visual culture of the widely distributed American photo magazine LIFE . This parody , including the group ’ s use of a similar logo , did not go unnoticed by LIFE , which pursued a legal claim against FILE . General Idea also took on media and television , for instance , by enacting a newscast and press conference in Pilot , 1977 , and mimicking a news magazine , talk show , and infomercial in Test Tube , 1979 . The group also engaged the store format . This can be seen in their earliest shop fronts created at 78 Gerrard Street West in Toronto and in their boutique projects , which included The Boutique from the Miss 1984 General Idea Pavillion , 1980 , ¥ en Boutique , 1989 , and Boutique Coeurs volants , 1994 / 2001 .
LEFT : View of the installation General Idea , Magi © Bullet , 1992 , consisting of 5,000 silver helium-filled mylar balloons , each 25 x 65 x 25 cm ( inflated ), edition of three installations plus one artist ’ s proof , Museum of Modern Art , New York , photograph by General Idea . This installation view is from Stux Gallery , New York , 1992 ( also showing General Idea Magic Carpet , 1992 , and Playing Doctor , 1992 ) RIGHT : Installation view of Andy Warhol , Silver Clouds , 1966 ( re-fabricated in 1994 ), helium-filled metalized plastic film ( Scotchpak ), each 91.4 x 129.5 cm , Andy Warhol Museum , Pittsburgh . Warhol made the work in collaboration with Billy Klüver . This installation view is of the Warhol Museum Series re-fabrication of Silver Clouds at Mostra SESC de Artes , Sao Paulo , Brazil , 2002
The art world itself was also a source of inspiration for the group ’ s appropriation . For example , General Idea ’ s performance XXX ( bleu ), 1984 , mimicked the actions of a performance by French artist Yves Klein ( 1928 – 1962 ), while also employing his signature colour International Klein Blue . With their work Magi © Bullet , 1992 , General Idea appropriated Andy Warhol ’ s Silver Clouds , 1966 , an installation of silver balloons
1 filled with helium . Magi © Bullet is an installation comprised of General Idea multiples :
silver pill-shaped balloons , likewise inflated with helium .
The group ’ s paintings also drew on key works in the history of twentieth-century art . For instance , the painting series Infe © ted Mondrian , 1994 , reworked the signature abstract patterns of the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian ( 1872 – 1944 ). General Idea ’ s
60