General Idea: Works 1968鈥�75
Sep 25, 2009 - Nov 07, 2009
In the gallery鈥檚 third solo show with General Idea, Esther Schipper is showing works from the early years. TheCanadian artists鈥� group was founded in 1969 by Jorge Zontal, Felix Partz and AA Bronson in Toronto. Withconceptual works, subversive commentaries on mass media culture, and the appropriation of formats frompopular culture, the group soon attracted international attention. Their works of the 1970s, 80s and 90s are stillconsidered an important influence on subsequent generations of artists. In 1994, Zontal and Partz died of AIDS.
The exhibition includes early works from the artists鈥� estate and shows the many-layered conceptual frame ofreference that was to shape the group鈥檚 entire future work. General Idea emerged at a time of student revolt,communes and free love. 鈥淲e believed in a free economy, in the abolition of copyright, and in horizontal grassrootsstructures that pre-empted the architecture of the internet.鈥�1 A central point of the General Idea project as awhole was to mythologize the group鈥檚 artistic genius and create a counter-reality.
General Idea鈥檚 first and only film work, God is my Gigolo (1969), was shot in black and white on 16mm filmwithout sound. The work can be seen as a link between the underground cinema of the 1960s and 70s and thevideo art of today. It was shot in the neighbourhood around the old house in Toronto where the group livedtogether and organized its first exhibitions, and on Ward鈥檚 Island, a small island in Toronto鈥檚 harbour. A vitrinecontains the film鈥檚 handwritten script, a drawing by Jorge Zontal of the set related in formal terms to Manet鈥檚D茅jeuner sur l鈥檋erbe, as well as notes and photographs from the shoot.
The Index Cards (1969鈥�70) document ideas for actions and projects by the group, some of which were realized.The cards are grouped into categories (Event Series, Act / Action / Instruction Series, Air Earth Fire Water Series).A total of over one hundred Index Cards were made by all three members of the group. Chain Letter (1970) isone of a series of correspondence projects, which involved the letters鈥� potential recipients being asked to performspecific actions.
The Club Canasta, FILE鈥檚 Filathon Telephone Canasta Party (1972) adds an additional media level to the ideaof participatory artworks and artistic networking. Via questionnaires and lists of participants, people associatedwith General Idea were called on to play canasta and to gather in their respective cities on 20 November 1972, toreceive telephone calls from General Idea, who were themselves playing canasta at the studios of the CanadianBroadcasting Corporation (CBC). Club Canasta was to be edited and broadcast as a radio special but was neveractually aired. The same year, the group founded FILE magazine. The piece on Club Canasta published in themagazine supplements the collective artwork. Visitors to the exhibition can also listen to recordings from theevent.
The Showcard Series (1975鈥�1979) represents the artists鈥� central system of reference. The expanded IndexCards are the building bricks of a superstructure for the constructed identity 鈥楳iss General Idea鈥� used by the groupas a vehicle for promoting its own myth. This work brings together the material from the early fictitious and realprojects. The showcards are classified into five groups: The Search for the Spirit of Miss General Idea, The 1984Miss General Idea Pageant, Miss General Idea, The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion and Frame of Reference.The series on show here comprises thirteen works on paper and belongs to the fifth group. Some of the motifsfrom the gelatine silver prints of 1973-74 also recur in the showcards. The Hand of the Spirit (1974) shows oneof the group鈥檚 iconic symbols in Perspex, which also appears in Untitled (Sandy Stagg models the MissGeneral Idea Shoe and the Hand of the Spirit against the backdrop of Luxon V.B.) (1973/74).
The exhibition includes early works from the artists鈥� estate and shows the many-layered conceptual frame ofreference that was to shape the group鈥檚 entire future work. General Idea emerged at a time of student revolt,communes and free love. 鈥淲e believed in a free economy, in the abolition of copyright, and in horizontal grassrootsstructures that pre-empted the architecture of the internet.鈥�1 A central point of the General Idea project as awhole was to mythologize the group鈥檚 artistic genius and create a counter-reality.
General Idea鈥檚 first and only film work, God is my Gigolo (1969), was shot in black and white on 16mm filmwithout sound. The work can be seen as a link between the underground cinema of the 1960s and 70s and thevideo art of today. It was shot in the neighbourhood around the old house in Toronto where the group livedtogether and organized its first exhibitions, and on Ward鈥檚 Island, a small island in Toronto鈥檚 harbour. A vitrinecontains the film鈥檚 handwritten script, a drawing by Jorge Zontal of the set related in formal terms to Manet鈥檚D茅jeuner sur l鈥檋erbe, as well as notes and photographs from the shoot.
The Index Cards (1969鈥�70) document ideas for actions and projects by the group, some of which were realized.The cards are grouped into categories (Event Series, Act / Action / Instruction Series, Air Earth Fire Water Series).A total of over one hundred Index Cards were made by all three members of the group. Chain Letter (1970) isone of a series of correspondence projects, which involved the letters鈥� potential recipients being asked to performspecific actions.
The Club Canasta, FILE鈥檚 Filathon Telephone Canasta Party (1972) adds an additional media level to the ideaof participatory artworks and artistic networking. Via questionnaires and lists of participants, people associatedwith General Idea were called on to play canasta and to gather in their respective cities on 20 November 1972, toreceive telephone calls from General Idea, who were themselves playing canasta at the studios of the CanadianBroadcasting Corporation (CBC). Club Canasta was to be edited and broadcast as a radio special but was neveractually aired. The same year, the group founded FILE magazine. The piece on Club Canasta published in themagazine supplements the collective artwork. Visitors to the exhibition can also listen to recordings from theevent.
The Showcard Series (1975鈥�1979) represents the artists鈥� central system of reference. The expanded IndexCards are the building bricks of a superstructure for the constructed identity 鈥楳iss General Idea鈥� used by the groupas a vehicle for promoting its own myth. This work brings together the material from the early fictitious and realprojects. The showcards are classified into five groups: The Search for the Spirit of Miss General Idea, The 1984Miss General Idea Pageant, Miss General Idea, The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion and Frame of Reference.The series on show here comprises thirteen works on paper and belongs to the fifth group. Some of the motifsfrom the gelatine silver prints of 1973-74 also recur in the showcards. The Hand of the Spirit (1974) shows oneof the group鈥檚 iconic symbols in Perspex, which also appears in Untitled (Sandy Stagg models the MissGeneral Idea Shoe and the Hand of the Spirit against the backdrop of Luxon V.B.) (1973/74).
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In the gallery鈥檚 third solo show with General Idea, Esther Schipper is showing works from the early years. TheCanadian artists鈥� group was founded in 1969 by Jorge Zontal, Felix Partz and AA Bronson in Toronto. Withconceptual works, subversive commentaries on mass media culture, and the appropriation of formats frompopular culture, the group soon attracted international attention. Their works of the 1970s, 80s and 90s are stillconsidered an important influence on subsequent generations of artists. In 1994, Zontal and Partz died of AIDS.
The exhibition includes early works from the artists鈥� estate and shows the many-layered conceptual frame ofreference that was to shape the group鈥檚 entire future work. General Idea emerged at a time of student revolt,communes and free love. 鈥淲e believed in a free economy, in the abolition of copyright, and in horizontal grassrootsstructures that pre-empted the architecture of the internet.鈥�1 A central point of the General Idea project as awhole was to mythologize the group鈥檚 artistic genius and create a counter-reality.
General Idea鈥檚 first and only film work, God is my Gigolo (1969), was shot in black and white on 16mm filmwithout sound. The work can be seen as a link between the underground cinema of the 1960s and 70s and thevideo art of today. It was shot in the neighbourhood around the old house in Toronto where the group livedtogether and organized its first exhibitions, and on Ward鈥檚 Island, a small island in Toronto鈥檚 harbour. A vitrinecontains the film鈥檚 handwritten script, a drawing by Jorge Zontal of the set related in formal terms to Manet鈥檚D茅jeuner sur l鈥檋erbe, as well as notes and photographs from the shoot.
The Index Cards (1969鈥�70) document ideas for actions and projects by the group, some of which were realized.The cards are grouped into categories (Event Series, Act / Action / Instruction Series, Air Earth Fire Water Series).A total of over one hundred Index Cards were made by all three members of the group. Chain Letter (1970) isone of a series of correspondence projects, which involved the letters鈥� potential recipients being asked to performspecific actions.
The Club Canasta, FILE鈥檚 Filathon Telephone Canasta Party (1972) adds an additional media level to the ideaof participatory artworks and artistic networking. Via questionnaires and lists of participants, people associatedwith General Idea were called on to play canasta and to gather in their respective cities on 20 November 1972, toreceive telephone calls from General Idea, who were themselves playing canasta at the studios of the CanadianBroadcasting Corporation (CBC). Club Canasta was to be edited and broadcast as a radio special but was neveractually aired. The same year, the group founded FILE magazine. The piece on Club Canasta published in themagazine supplements the collective artwork. Visitors to the exhibition can also listen to recordings from theevent.
The Showcard Series (1975鈥�1979) represents the artists鈥� central system of reference. The expanded IndexCards are the building bricks of a superstructure for the constructed identity 鈥楳iss General Idea鈥� used by the groupas a vehicle for promoting its own myth. This work brings together the material from the early fictitious and realprojects. The showcards are classified into five groups: The Search for the Spirit of Miss General Idea, The 1984Miss General Idea Pageant, Miss General Idea, The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion and Frame of Reference.The series on show here comprises thirteen works on paper and belongs to the fifth group. Some of the motifsfrom the gelatine silver prints of 1973-74 also recur in the showcards. The Hand of the Spirit (1974) shows oneof the group鈥檚 iconic symbols in Perspex, which also appears in Untitled (Sandy Stagg models the MissGeneral Idea Shoe and the Hand of the Spirit against the backdrop of Luxon V.B.) (1973/74).
The exhibition includes early works from the artists鈥� estate and shows the many-layered conceptual frame ofreference that was to shape the group鈥檚 entire future work. General Idea emerged at a time of student revolt,communes and free love. 鈥淲e believed in a free economy, in the abolition of copyright, and in horizontal grassrootsstructures that pre-empted the architecture of the internet.鈥�1 A central point of the General Idea project as awhole was to mythologize the group鈥檚 artistic genius and create a counter-reality.
General Idea鈥檚 first and only film work, God is my Gigolo (1969), was shot in black and white on 16mm filmwithout sound. The work can be seen as a link between the underground cinema of the 1960s and 70s and thevideo art of today. It was shot in the neighbourhood around the old house in Toronto where the group livedtogether and organized its first exhibitions, and on Ward鈥檚 Island, a small island in Toronto鈥檚 harbour. A vitrinecontains the film鈥檚 handwritten script, a drawing by Jorge Zontal of the set related in formal terms to Manet鈥檚D茅jeuner sur l鈥檋erbe, as well as notes and photographs from the shoot.
The Index Cards (1969鈥�70) document ideas for actions and projects by the group, some of which were realized.The cards are grouped into categories (Event Series, Act / Action / Instruction Series, Air Earth Fire Water Series).A total of over one hundred Index Cards were made by all three members of the group. Chain Letter (1970) isone of a series of correspondence projects, which involved the letters鈥� potential recipients being asked to performspecific actions.
The Club Canasta, FILE鈥檚 Filathon Telephone Canasta Party (1972) adds an additional media level to the ideaof participatory artworks and artistic networking. Via questionnaires and lists of participants, people associatedwith General Idea were called on to play canasta and to gather in their respective cities on 20 November 1972, toreceive telephone calls from General Idea, who were themselves playing canasta at the studios of the CanadianBroadcasting Corporation (CBC). Club Canasta was to be edited and broadcast as a radio special but was neveractually aired. The same year, the group founded FILE magazine. The piece on Club Canasta published in themagazine supplements the collective artwork. Visitors to the exhibition can also listen to recordings from theevent.
The Showcard Series (1975鈥�1979) represents the artists鈥� central system of reference. The expanded IndexCards are the building bricks of a superstructure for the constructed identity 鈥楳iss General Idea鈥� used by the groupas a vehicle for promoting its own myth. This work brings together the material from the early fictitious and realprojects. The showcards are classified into five groups: The Search for the Spirit of Miss General Idea, The 1984Miss General Idea Pageant, Miss General Idea, The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion and Frame of Reference.The series on show here comprises thirteen works on paper and belongs to the fifth group. Some of the motifsfrom the gelatine silver prints of 1973-74 also recur in the showcards. The Hand of the Spirit (1974) shows oneof the group鈥檚 iconic symbols in Perspex, which also appears in Untitled (Sandy Stagg models the MissGeneral Idea Shoe and the Hand of the Spirit against the backdrop of Luxon V.B.) (1973/74).
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