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 worked across a wide range of media including photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installations, 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 for General Idea, which utilized longevity as an avenue to delve deeper into, build upon, and evolve with the complex and nuanced subject matter it took on.

At the onset of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s - the illness and the apathy/ignorance toward it became a dominant motif culminating in this work (and its multitude of incarnations).

This iconic screenprint is perhaps their most iconic imagery. Appropriating Robert Indiana’s “LOVE”, General Idea subverted his iconic work to read "AIDS" while using the same font and bold color arrangement of red/green/blue as the original. 

Included here are some furtive photos from the General Idea retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.

Two of the members, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal, died of AIDS in 1994. General Idea's surviving member, AA Bronson, continues to practice as an independent artist and oversees the representation, exhibition, and reedition of General Idea’s work internationally.  

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"AIDS"

1988

Note: the work was created in 1987, but signed/completed in 1988

Screenprint on paper

Signed, numbered, and dated 88 by the artists

From an edition of 80

32"H 32"W (work)  

34.5"H 34.5"W (framed)

Framed with museum glass