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General IdeaThe 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant1971
1971
About the Item
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of four decades, they made a significant contribution to postmodern and conceptual art in Canada and beyond.
The group was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. They worked with a wide range of media including photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installations, multiples, and performance.
Many General Idea fans are surprised to learn of the trio's origins in the experimental theatre realm. One of their earliest projects from 1970 was the ambitious Miss General Idea Pageant. Through various objects and performances, The Miss General Idea Pageant would endure for nearly two decades.
In the following year, it became a formal event or an ongoing multi-media project that included mail art, installation, performance, and some elements of a contest. Thirteen artists were invited to compete and were sent a kit containing instructions on how to participate. The requirements included photographing themselves in an identical brown taffeta dress.
One artist sent the package back with the inscription "Chauvinist Pigs". Her feedback was displayed and considered as her entry. This and the other contestants' contributions were first exhibited at A Space (a Toronto artist-run center) before the "event" which occurred at the Art Gallery of Ontario a week later.
This extremely rare print was the advertisement for the exhibition and the "Grand Awards Ceremony". While around 250 unnumbered prints were created on white paper, there was a limited edition of 10 salmon paper which were signed, rubber-stamped and numbered.
As with "The Artist's Conception", (which was included in the mail art 'application" of this project), this work includes found imagery created by Canadian artist Glen Lewis. This element of photographic appropriation was done almost a decade earlier than similar works by artists such as Barbara Kruger and Richard Prince.
"The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant" is represented in the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Canada and has been included in numerous international exhibitions over the years. It goes without saying that this is an important and early artwork from the genesis of General Idea.
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“The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant”
Canada, 1971
Photo screenprint on salmon wove paper
Signed (rubber-stamped) and numbered
From an edition of 10
40"H 26"W (work)
43"H 29"W (framed)
Framed with museum glass
Very good condition
- Creator:
- Creation Year:1971
- Dimensions:Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good condition.
- Gallery Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 11-231stDibs: LU215213448532
General Idea
General Idea was commissioned by the Toronto Stock Exchange to install a work/mural. Shortly after the TSX published two prints, a lithograph poster and a limited edition print. However, most of the edition was destroyed/thrown away, when they moved from the trading floor at the TD Centre to their offices. As a result, the work has almost achieved mythological status amongst General Idea collectors.
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By General Idea
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of 25 years, they made a significant contribution to postmodern and conceptual art in Canada and beyond.
The group was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. They with photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installation, multiples, and performance. While the medium frequently changed, General Idea early introduced talismans or logos that they would revisit and re-envision, including skulls, ziggurats, and poodles.
(The EyeEye crest, for example, reappears in 1993 as a benefit print for the International Festival of Authors)
This print comes from "Fear Management": a set of 8 prints...
Category
1980s Post-Modern Figurative Prints
Materials
Screen
Down the Drink
By General Idea
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of 25 years, they made a significant contribution to postmodern and conceptual art in Canada and beyond.
The group was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. They with photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installation, multiples, and performance. While the medium frequently changed, General Idea early introduced talismans or logos that they would revisit and re-envision, including skulls, ziggurats, and poodles.
(The EyeEye crest, for example, reappears in 1993 as a benefit print for the International Festival of Authors)
This print comes from "Fear Management": a set of 8 prints...
Category
1980s Post-Modern Figurative Prints
Materials
Screen
Dr. Brute's Shield
By General Idea
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of 25 years, they made a significant cont...
Category
1980s Post-Modern Figurative Prints
Materials
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The Hand of the Spirit of Miss General Idea
By General Idea
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of 25 years, they made a significant contribution to postmodern and conceptual art in Canada and beyond.
The group was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. They with photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installation, multiples, and performance.
With their subversive approach and interest in parody and appropriation, General Idea addressed a broad range of social (and art-world) issues such as the cult of the artist, mass media, queer identity, and consumerism.
Thematic continuity was a key element in General Idea's work. Early on they introduced talismans or logos that they would revisit and re-envision, including skulls, ziggurats, and poodles. Perhaps one of the earliest of these icons is the pinching hand, or "Hand of the Spirit" which debuts around 1972 and appears frequently throughout the decade.
Centered on a hand-painted background, "The Hand of the Spirit of Miss General Idea" features a vibrant crest that displays a hand with fingers curled in a mystical gesture.
This print comes from "Fear Management": a set of 8 prints...
Category
1980s Post-Modern Figurative Prints
Materials
Screen
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By General Idea
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of 25 years, they made a significant contribution to postmodern and conceptual art in Canada and beyond.
The group was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. They use photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installation, multiples, and performance.
With their subversive approach and interest in parody and appropriation, General Idea addressed a broad range of social (and art-world) issues such as the cult of the artist, mass media, queer identity, and consumerism.
Thematic continuity was a key element in General Idea's work. Early on they introduced talismans or logos that they would revisit and re-envision, including skulls, ziggurats, and poodles.
This print comes from "Fear Management": a set of 8 prints...
Category
1980s Post-Modern Figurative Prints
Materials
Screen
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By General Idea
Located in Toronto, Ontario
In 1967, General Idea was founded in Toronto by AA Bronson (b. 1946), Felix Partz (1945-1994), and Jorge Zontal (1944-1994). Over the course of 25 years, they made a significant contribution to postmodern and conceptual art in Canada and beyond.
The group was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. They with photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installation, multiples, and performance.
With their subversive approach and interest in parody and appropriation, General Idea addressed a broad range of social (and art-world) issues such as the cult of the artist, mass media, queer identity, and consumerism.
Thematic continuity was a key element in General Idea's work. Early on they introduced talismans or logos that they would revisit and re-envision, including skulls, ziggurats, and poodles.
This print comes from "Fear Management": a set of 8 prints that celebrates some of General Idea's defining and most beloved motifs by situating them on a crest. This showcases their clever blend of historical fantasy and invented patrimony.
Many of these self-mythologizing crests debuted in 1986 during their exhibition at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo entitled: The Armoury of the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion.
This series is a defining example of one of General Idea's most iconic motifs, the crest, which showcases their clever blend of historical fantasy and invented patrimony.
Centered on a handpainted background, "The Honeymoon...
Category
1980s Post-Modern Figurative Prints
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