General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E. K. Smith
number of multiples they created varied in each edition according to the artists’ interest and the context of the project— from editions of as few as two to editions of three hundred. In some cases, General Idea produced prototypes that were never realized as editions.
LEFT: General Idea, AIDS Ring, 1993 / 96, sterling silver in black velvet – covered jewellery box, title card( photocopy on vellum), in white-card box; box: 7 x 6 x 4.5 cm, various ring sizes; edition of one hundred plus one artist’ s proofs, signed and numbered, various collections, photograph by Peter MacCallum RIGHT: General Idea, Test Pattern: T. V. Dinner Plate, 1988, porcelain plate in cardboard box, label offset on paper; box: 24.5 x 31 x 2.8 cm, plate: 20 x 22.5 x 1.5 cm; first edition: edition of 238 plus eighteen artist’ s proofs, the first one hundred and the artist’ s proofs are signed and numbered, the others signed; various collections, photograph by Thomas E. Moore
In part, the group’ s interest in multiples was tied to their critical interest in consumerism. AA Bronson explained,“ General Idea was at once complicit in and critical of the mechanisms and strategies that join art and commerce, a sort of mole in the art
27 world.” The artists promoted General Idea multiples through retail installations such as
The Boutique from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1980, and ¥ en Boutique, 1989. The 1984 Boutique, created in the shape of a dollar sign, made its commercial intentions apparent. Both boutiques were fully functioning kiosks at which General Idea multiples were sold. General Idea’ s founding of the artist-run centre Art Metropole is also tied to the group’ s interest in multiples: opened in 1974, the Toronto-based institution distributes artist editions to this day.
Many General Idea multiples closely referenced their concurrent art projects in other media. For instance, The Getting into the Spirits Cocktail Book from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1980, is a bookwork of ersatz cocktail recipes for the drinks the group concocted in the Colour Bar Lounge( which appeared in their video work Test Tube, 1979). Similarly, General Idea translated their ongoing interest in heraldry( evidenced by a series of paintings featuring recurring imagery such as the poodle) into a series of crest multiples. Eye of the Beholder, 1989, for example, is a small chenille crest with a black, white, and red colour palette that shows a stylized skull with two copyright symbols for eyes. Above, the name of the group appears in capital letters.
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