General Idea
GENERAL IDEA "EYE OF THE BEHOLDER" CHENILLE CREST, 1989
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.
General Idea was both prolific and multi-disciplinary long before it became de rigueur. Together, they worked across photography, sculpture, painting, mail art, video, installation, multiples, and performance. The group also made a significant number of unconventional editioned works and was inspired by the idea of the anti-art object.
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 work, with it's stylized cartoon skull (with copyright symbol eyes) is one of these logos or mascots that make several appearances in their oeuvre. Click here to see another example of this skull.
General Idea was particularly interested in (European) crests used for centuries to represent a city, district, or even a creative or professional guild. They both appropriated and reinterpreted existing crests in addition to creating ones entirely of their own imagination.
Between 1988 and 1989, General Idea produced 8 chenille crests with some of their most iconic motifs. These crests recalled their traditional European antecedents and the aesthetics of high-school sports teams and varsity jackets.
"Eye of the Beholder" features a single stylized skull completed in General Idea's signature palette of crimson red, black, and white. The skull motif epitomizes their campy, cartoonish, or absurd emblems.
While these crests were intended to be an unlimited edition, according to the General Idea Editions catalog raisonné, less than 100 were produced. In 2010 AA Bronson would reissue these crests, however, the quality was arguably inferior to the originals. Serious collectors pursue the original crests, offered here.
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"Eye of the Beholder"
USA, 1989
Chenille, embroidery on crest-shaped felt
From an unrealized edition, less than 100 produced
9"H 8.25"W (crest)
12.25"H 11.5"W (framed)
Framed with museum glass
Very good condition.
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