The works of General Idea are held in public and private collections internationally. The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, is a prime location at which to learn more about the group, as the gallery has a large collection of their work, and its Library and Archives holds issues of FILE Megazine, as well as the General Idea fonds and the Art Metropole Collection.
Many of General Idea’s works were produced as multiples in editions of various sizes. Noted below is a selection of institutions that hold at least one multiple in their respective collections. Although the following institutions hold the works listed, they may not always be on view.
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Queen’s University
36 University Avenue
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
613-533-2190
agnes.queensu.ca
In addition to the work featured here, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre holds a large collection of General Idea’s print editions.
General Idea, General Idea’s Putti, 1993
Found seal-shaped soaps on printed pulpboard
4 x 8.5 (diam.) cm
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1-877-255-4246 or 416-979-6648
ago.net
In the early 1990s the Art Gallery of Ontario began acquiring a definitive collection of General Idea, covering their twenty-five years of output and distinct periods of work. The gallery was able to acquire one major work and a group of minor works for each period. Since that time the AGO has continued to add General Idea works to its collection and has recently added an archival collection of invitation cards, source books, catalogues, and smaller editions to its in-depth holdings.
General Idea, Mimi, 1968–69
Fluorescent acrylic and latex on canvas
301 x 201.8 cm
General Idea, Artist’s Conception: Miss General Idea 1971, 1971
Serigraph on wove paper
101.5 x 66 cm
General Idea, Manipulating the Self (Manipulating the Scene), 1973
Colour offset photolithograph on wove paper
73.8 x 58.5 cm
General Idea, Showcard Series, 1975–79
Serigraphed cards with photographs
Each card 45.7 x 35.6 cm
General Idea, Colour Bar Lounge, 1979
Aluminum, glass, colour photographs, and printed cards
Wall unit: 63.5 x 377 cm, floor unit: 101.3 x 380 x 24 cm
General Idea, The Boutique from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1980
Galvanized metal and Plexiglas, containing various General Idea multiples, prints, posters, and publications
153.7 x 339.1 x 259.1 cm
General Idea, General Idea’s Nazi Milk Glass from the Colour Bar Lounge, 1980
Drinking glass with offset adhesive label in plastic box with gold hot-stamping
Box: 15.3 x 10 (diam.) cm, glass: 15 x 9.2 (diam.) cm
General Idea, XXX (bleu), 1984
Installation resulting from a performance
Set of three acrylic on canvas, each 493.5 x 296 x 250 cm
Set of three poodle mannequins, straw, synthetic fur, acrylic, each standard breed size 74 x 20 x 77 cm
Overall installation 350 x 988 x 143.5 cm
General Idea, AIDS, 1988–90
AIDS paintings, 1988, acrylic on canvas, each 243.7 x 243.7 cm
AIDS (Wallpaper), 1990, screen print on wallpaper, rolled 68.6 x 4.6 (diam.) cm, unrolled 457 x 68.6 cm
Overall installation dimensions variable
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
General Idea, XXX Voto (for the Spirit of Miss General Idea), 1995
Offset publication, 128 pages, colour reproductions, black-linen hardcover with blue hot-stamping
14.5 x 11 cm
FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais
503 Avenue des Bancs de Flandres
Dunkirk, France
+33 (0)3 28 65 84 20
francnpdc.fr/
General Idea, General Idea’s Nazi Milk Glass from the Colour Bar Lounge, 1980
Drinking glass with offset adhesive label in plastic box with gold hot-stamping
Box: 15.3 x 10 (diam.) cm, glass: 15 x 9.2 (diam.) cm
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
General Idea, Eye of the Beholder, 1989
Chenille, embroidery on crest-shaped felt
24 x 21 cm
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
General Idea, General Idea’s Putti, 1993
Found seal-shaped soaps on printed pulpboard
4 x 8.5 (diam.) cm
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery at Hart House
Art Museum at the University of Toronto
7 Hart House Circle
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
416-978-8398
artmuseum.utoronto.ca
General Idea, Melting Snow Crystal Virus #4, 1992
Mixed media
78 x 63 cm
Kunsthaus Zürich
Heimplatz 1
CH–8001 Zürich, Switzerland
+41 (0)44 253 84 84
kunsthaus.ch
General Idea, Test Tube, 1979
Video, 28 min., 15 sec.
General Idea, Cornucopia, 1982
Video, 10 min.
General Idea, Shut the Fuck Up, 1985
Video, 14 min.
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal
185 Ste-Catherine Street West
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
514-847-6226
macm.org/en
General Idea, Manipulating the Self (Manipulating the Scene), 1973
Colour offset photolithograph on wove paper
73.8 x 58.5 cm
General Idea, Cornucopia, 1982
Video, 10 min.
General Idea, Shut the Fuck Up, 1985
Video, 14 min.
Musée Léon Dierx
Rue Sainte-Marie
Saint-Denis, Île de la Réunion, Africa
+33 2 62 20 24 82
General Idea, Baby Makes 3, 1984/89
Chromogenic print (Ektachrome)
76.9 x 63.1 cm
Musée national d’art moderne
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Place Georges Pompidou
Paris, France
+33 (0)1 44 78 12 33
centrepompidou.fr/en
General Idea, ¥en Boutique, 1989
Various multiples, honeycomb aluminum, enamel paint, three aluminum tripods, video elements (Test Tube or alternate)
212 x 315 x 348 cm
Museum of Modern Art
111 West 53 Street
New York, New York, USA
212-708-9400
moma.org
The Museum of Modern Art holds a very large collection of General Idea’s editions in various media and also holds major installations.
General Idea, Artist’s Conception: Miss General Idea 1971, 1971
Screenprint on brown latex
101.5 x 66 cm
General Idea, Manipulating the Self (Manipulating the Scene), 1973
Colour offset photolithograph on wove paper
73.8 x 58.5 cm
General Idea, Test Tube, 1979
Video, 28 min., 15 sec.
General Idea, Shut the Fuck Up, 1985
Video, 14 min.
General Idea, Eye of the Beholder, 1989
Chenille, embroidery on crest-shaped felt
24 x 21 cm
General Idea, Magi© Bullet, 1992
Silver helium-filled mylar balloons
Each 25 x 65 x 25 cm (inflated)
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
General Idea, XXX Voto (for the Spirit of Miss General Idea), 1995
Offset publication, 128 pages, colour reproductions, black-linen hardcover with blue hot-stamping
14.5 x 11 cm
National Gallery of Canada
380 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
613-990-1985
gallery.ca
The National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives has three distinct archival holdings that contain a wealth of material related to General Idea. These are the Art Metropole Collection, the General Idea Collection, and the Fern Bayer fonds. In addition to these, the museum holds a group of major installations dating from the early 1970s to the 1990s.
General Idea, The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant, 1971
Poster, photo screen print on wove paper
101.6 x 66 cm
General Idea, Double Mirror Video (A Borderline Case), 1971
Black and white videotape, 5 min., 50 sec.
General Idea, Manipulating the Self (Manipulating the Scene), 1973
Colour offset photolithograph on wove paper
73.8 x 58.5 cm
General Idea, Showcard Series, 1975–79
Serigraphed cards with photographs
Each card 45.7 x 35.6 cm
General Idea, Pilot, 1977
Video, 28 min., 56 sec.
General Idea, Reconstructing Futures, 1977
Installation, mixed media
Overall installation 274 x 432 x 1,017 cm
General Idea, Test Tube, 1979
Video, 28 min., 15 sec.
General Idea, General Idea’s Test Tube, 1980
Photolithograph on wove paper
61.1 x 45.7 cm
General Idea, Self-Portrait with Objects, 1981–82
Gelatin silver print
35.6 x 27.7 cm
General Idea, Cornucopia, 1982
Video, 10 min.
General Idea, Shut the Fuck Up, 1985
Video, 14 min.
General Idea, AIDS, 1989
Powder-coated metal (steel), with stickers, felt pen, and assorted items added by the public
201 x 198.8 x 100.5 cm
General Idea, Nightschool, 1989
Chromogenic print (Ektachrome)
95.5 x 76.7 cm
General Idea, One Day of AZT, 1991
Five units of Fiberglas and enamel
Each 85 x 213.3 x 85 cm
General Idea, One Year of AZT, 1991
1,825 units of vacuum-formed styrene with vinyl wall-mounted capsules
Each 12.7 x 31.7 x 6.3 cm
General Idea, Playing Doctor, 1992
Lacquer on vinyl
225 x 150 cm
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
General Idea, Fin de Siècle, 1994
Chromogenic print (Ektachrome)
79 x 55.7 cm
Sammlung Falckenberg
Deichtorhallen Hamburg
Wilstorfer Straße 71, Tor 2
Hamburg, Germany
0049 (0) 40 3250 6762
sammlung-falckenberg.de
The Sammlung Falckenberg/Deichtorhallen Hamburg has a very fine collection of major works from the 1980s and 1990s, especially one of General Idea’s large-scale pill installations, Red (Cadmium) PLA©EBO, 1991, and a complete set of the group’s self-portraits.
General Idea, Nazi Milk, 1979–90
Chromogenic print (Ektachrome)
78.9 x 58.6 cm
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 3rd Street
San Francisco, California
415-357-4000
sfmoma.org
General Idea, Cornucopia: Fragments from the Room of Unknown Function in the Villa Die Misteri of the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, 1982–83
Video installation, various elements with videotape Cornucopia, 1982
Overall installation 243.8 x 426.7 x 243.8 cm
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Museumplein 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 (0)20 5732 911
stedelijk.nl
General Idea, Pilot, 1977
Video, 28 min., 56 sec.
General Idea, Test Tube, 1979
Video, 28 min., 15 sec.
General Idea, Nightschool, 1989
Chromogenic print (Ektachrome)
95.5 x 76.7 cm
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
4401 University Drive
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
403-329-2666
uleth.ca/artgallery
General Idea, The Unveiling of the Cornucopia (A Mural Fragment from the Room of the Unknown Function in the Villa Dei Misteri of the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion), 1982
Enamel on plasterboard and plywood
Five panels, each 244 x 122 cm
General Idea, Shut the Fuck Up, 1985
Video, 14 min.
University of Toronto Art Centre
Art Museum at the University of Toronto
15 King’s College Circle
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
416-946-8687
artmuseum.utoronto.ca
The University of Toronto Art Centre has a collection that includes prints, posters, multiples, and ephemera spanning General Idea’s twenty-five-year career.
General Idea, Artist’s Conception: Miss General Idea 1971, 1971
Screen print on buff paper
101.5 x 66 cm
General Idea, The 1971 Miss General Idea Pageant, 1971
Poster, photo screen print on wove paper
101.6 x 66 cm
General Idea, General Idea’s Nazi Milk Glass from the Colour Bar Lounge, 1980
Drinking glass with offset adhesive label in plastic box with gold hot-stamping
Box: 15.3 x 10 (diam.) cm, glass: 15 x 9.2 (diam.) cm
General Idea, General Idea’s Test Tube, 1980
Photolithograph on wove paper
61.1 x 45.7 cm
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
General Idea, Eye of the Beholder, 1989
Chenille, embroidery on crest-shaped felt
24 x 21 cm
General Idea, XXX Voto (for the Spirit of Miss General Idea), 1995
Offset publication, 128 pages, colour reproductions, black-linen hardcover with blue hot-stamping
14.5 x 11 cm
Vancouver Art Gallery
750 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
604-662-4719
vanartgallery.bc.ca
General Idea, Nazi Milk, 1979–90
Chromogenic print (Ektachrome)
78.9 x 58.6 cm
General Idea, Three Graces: Mural Fragment from the Villa Dei Misteri, 1982
Latex enamel on wood
246 x 218 x 5 cm
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
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