donatefr

General Idea:
13 Works That Changed Our Definition of Art


Curated by Sarah E.K. Smith

Black and white photograph of a woman seated at a table and holding up a folder full of photos of models in costumes and masks, a typed letter titled "The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant," and a certificate.

Artist group General Idea—comprised of AA Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal—pushed the boundaries of Canadian art during the 1970s and 80s. Working and living together for twenty-five years, General Idea created internationally acclaimed conceptual art projects, making bold statements about queer identity, commerce, consumption and the media. The group’s artistic statements about queer identity were ahead of their time and the significance and activist dimension of many of their works cannot be understated. For more on General Idea read Sarah E.K. Smith’s General Idea: Life & Work.



About the Curator: Sarah E.K. Smith

Sarah E.K. Smith is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, where she is affiliated with the Transnational Studies Initiative. Her research focuses on contemporary art, with specific interest in socially and politically engaged art in Canada. Smith works as an independent curator and has held the position of Curator of Contemporary Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston. Major curatorial projects include I’m Not Myself At All: Deirdre Logue and Allyson Mitchell, 2015.



Banner Image: General Idea, The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant (detail), 1971, various media (including mail art project, performance, photography, and ephemera), dimensions variable, various collections, including Collection of the Carmen Lamanna Estate, Toronto; documentation and ephemera held at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Gallery

Black and white photograph of a woman seated at a table and holding up a folder full of photos of models in costumes and masks, a typed letter titled "The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant," and a certificate.

The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant, 1971

Cover of a magazine featuring a black and white photograph of a woman's leg, wearing thigh-high stockings and high heels, in front of a background of Venetian blinds. The leg is lit harshly and casting a shadow so there appears to be two legs. In the upper left corner is the word "FILE" in white text in a red box, mimicking the "LIFE" magazine logo, and small text below reading "$3 AUTUMN 1975." The headline "GLAMOUR ISSUE" appears below in the same red.

FILE Megazine, “Glamour Issue,” 1975

Photograph of an installation by General Idea. Two long wooden shelves run along a white gallery wall and hold rows of printed cards featuring handwritten text and photographs. The top row of cards is interrupted by a framed piece hung on the wall and continues on the other side of it.

Showcard Series, 1975–79

Still of a video by General Idea of three men in suits standing in front of a black background. The man in the middle, shorter than the others, is holding up a magazine cover featuring a black and white photograph of a woman's leg and the name "FILE" in white letters in a red box in the upper left.

Pilot, 1977

Still of a video by General Idea. Three men, one sitting and two standing, appear in a set made of a counter, bar stools, and a frame resembling an old television. In the background are vertical stripes resembling SMPTE color bars in white, yellow, blue, green, magenta, red, and dark blue, furthering the idea of the set being a television.

Test Tube, 1979

Photograph by General Idea of a young blond man wearing a white shirt and standing in front of a bright-orange background. He is looking at the viewer and holding a full glass of milk up to his lips. His hair is swept to the side and the milk has left a short white moustache above his top lip, mimicking Hitler's hair and moustache style.

Nazi Milk, 1979

Black and white photograph of an installation by General Idea. A woman sits at a trade booth which is made of metal in the form of a three-dimensional dollar sign. On the table top are magazines and cards, some laid flat and others in a display rack.

The Boutique from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1980

Still of a video by General Idea depicting a phallic object decorated with a blue and black design in front of a blue background. Appearing near the top of the object is a white crescent moon.

Cornucopia, 1982

Photograph of large paintings by General Idea lining the walls of a room in an art gallery. Each canvas depicts the silhouettes of three poodles, painted in fluorescent pink, orange, and yellow, in various sexual positions reminiscent of the Kama Sutra. In the middle of the room are wooden tables displaying artwork under glass tops and arranged in a triangle formation.

Mondo Cane Kama Sutra, 1984

Still of a video by General Idea showing footage of performers on a stage overlaid with a cartoon drawing of three cartoon poodles, in fluorescent pink, orange, and yellow, in a sexual position.

Shut the Fuck Up, 1985

"Pop art"-style painting by General Idea showing the word AIDS, letters stacked 2 x 2 on a square canvas, in a red slab serif font with the negative space between letters coloured in blue and green. The composition mimics American Pop art painter Robert Indiana’s 1966 work LOVE.

AIDS, 1987

Photograph of an installation by General Idea of stacks of haphazardly arranged white styrofoam sheets, mimicking ice floes, on top of which are three stuffed faux seal pups.

Fin de siècle, 1990

Photograph of an installation by General Idea. In a narrow room or hallway with large windows at the end, two grey walls are lined top to bottom with hundreds of plastic capsules resembling the antiretroviral drug AZT (white pills with a blue vertical strip down the middle). In the middle of the room are five large reproductions of the same pill, each slightly bigger than a human body and lying side-by-side on the floor.

One Year of AZT, 1991

Black and white photograph of a woman seated at a table and holding up a folder full of photos of models in costumes and masks, a typed letter titled "The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant," and a certificate.

The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant, 1971

Cover of a magazine featuring a black and white photograph of a woman's leg, wearing thigh-high stockings and high heels, in front of a background of Venetian blinds. The leg is lit harshly and casting a shadow so there appears to be two legs. In the upper left corner is the word "FILE" in white text in a red box, mimicking the "LIFE" magazine logo, and small text below reading "$3 AUTUMN 1975." The headline "GLAMOUR ISSUE" appears below in the same red.

FILE Megazine, “Glamour Issue,” 1975

Photograph of an installation by General Idea. Two long wooden shelves run along a white gallery wall and hold rows of printed cards featuring handwritten text and photographs. The top row of cards is interrupted by a framed piece hung on the wall and continues on the other side of it.

Showcard Series, 1975–79

Still of a video by General Idea of three men in suits standing in front of a black background. The man in the middle, shorter than the others, is holding up a magazine cover featuring a black and white photograph of a woman's leg and the name "FILE" in white letters in a red box in the upper left.

Pilot, 1977

Still of a video by General Idea. Three men, one sitting and two standing, appear in a set made of a counter, bar stools, and a frame resembling an old television. In the background are vertical stripes resembling SMPTE color bars in white, yellow, blue, green, magenta, red, and dark blue, furthering the idea of the set being a television.

Test Tube, 1979

Photograph by General Idea of a young blond man wearing a white shirt and standing in front of a bright-orange background. He is looking at the viewer and holding a full glass of milk up to his lips. His hair is swept to the side and the milk has left a short white moustache above his top lip, mimicking Hitler's hair and moustache style.

Nazi Milk, 1979

Black and white photograph of an installation by General Idea. A woman sits at a trade booth which is made of metal in the form of a three-dimensional dollar sign. On the table top are magazines and cards, some laid flat and others in a display rack.

The Boutique from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1980

Still of a video by General Idea depicting a phallic object decorated with a blue and black design in front of a blue background. Appearing near the top of the object is a white crescent moon.

Cornucopia, 1982

Photograph of large paintings by General Idea lining the walls of a room in an art gallery. Each canvas depicts the silhouettes of three poodles, painted in fluorescent pink, orange, and yellow, in various sexual positions reminiscent of the Kama Sutra. In the middle of the room are wooden tables displaying artwork under glass tops and arranged in a triangle formation.

Mondo Cane Kama Sutra, 1984

Still of a video by General Idea showing footage of performers on a stage overlaid with a cartoon drawing of three cartoon poodles, in fluorescent pink, orange, and yellow, in a sexual position.

Shut the Fuck Up, 1985

"Pop art"-style painting by General Idea showing the word AIDS, letters stacked 2 x 2 on a square canvas, in a red slab serif font with the negative space between letters coloured in blue and green. The composition mimics American Pop art painter Robert Indiana’s 1966 work LOVE.

AIDS, 1987

Photograph of an installation by General Idea of stacks of haphazardly arranged white styrofoam sheets, mimicking ice floes, on top of which are three stuffed faux seal pups.

Fin de siècle, 1990

Photograph of an installation by General Idea. In a narrow room or hallway with large windows at the end, two grey walls are lined top to bottom with hundreds of plastic capsules resembling the antiretroviral drug AZT (white pills with a blue vertical strip down the middle). In the middle of the room are five large reproductions of the same pill, each slightly bigger than a human body and lying side-by-side on the floor.

One Year of AZT, 1991

Explore More

Online Exhibitions

Back to Online Exhibitions
Composite image of two paintings. LEFT: an abstract image of brightly coloured tubes, cones, and circles. LEFT: A woman in profile in front of a brightly coloured background of lines and circles.
The 2025 Canadian Student Art inspiration Challenge

Celebrating Canada’s Future Artists

View Exhibition
Composite image of an aerial photograph of a river (left) and a surreal painting of blended city and mountain landscape (right).
The 2024 Canadian Student Art inspiration Challenge

Celebrating Canada’s Future Artists

View Exhibition
Composite of two paintings. LEFT: portrait of two youg women in front of water. RIGHT: portrait of a woman with a young child.
The 2023 Canadian Student Art inspiration Challenge

Celebrating Canada’s Future Artists

View Exhibition
An exhibition of works by General Idea