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General Idea

Four out of the five Pasta Paintings (1986–87) by the artist collective General Idea are owned by Mudam. The collaboration between AA Bronson (b. 1946, Vancouver), Felix Partz (b. 1945, Winnipeg – d. 1994, Toronto) and Jorge Zontal (b. 1944, Parma – d. 1994, Toronto) began in Toronto in 1969 and ended in 1994 when Partz and Zontal died of AIDS-related complications. In this series the group playfully appropriate the famous logos of multinational corporations. By removing all written information, General Idea strip these commercial emblems of their original meaning, turning them into 'empty' geometric abstractions. Raising questions about the rarefication and commodification of art in the museum, the institutional critique that is characteristic of the group's work is undercut by their ironically decorative use of small, elbow-shaped pieces of pasta. Ambiguity is recurrent in General Idea's images and sculptural work, a tool which they use to 'point out the wildly fluctuating interpretations you, our public, impose on us'.

Artworks

  1. General Idea, "Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Visa)", 1986–1987. Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile 101,6 x 152,4 cm. Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Acquisition 2007 © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg
    General Idea Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Visa), 1986

    De la série Pasta Paintings, 1986–1987
    Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile
    101,6 x 152,4 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2007
    © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

  1. General Idea, "Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Vantage)", 1986–1987. Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile 122 x 102 cm. Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Acquisition 2007 © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg
    General Idea Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Vantage), 1986

    De la série Pasta Paintings, 1986–1987
    Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile
    122 x 102 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2007
    © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

  1. General Idea, "Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Marlboro)", 1986–1987. Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile 122 x 102 cm Collection. Mudam Luxembourg. Acquisition 2007 © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg
    General Idea Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Marlboro), 1986

    De la série Pasta Paintings, 1986–1987
    Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile
    122 x 102 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2007
    © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

  1. General Idea, "Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Mastercard)", 1986–1987.Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile 101,6 x 152,4 cm. Collection Mudam Luxembourg. Acquisition 2007 © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg
    General Idea Pasta Paintings : Sans Titre (Mastercard), 1987

    De la série Pasta Paintings, 1986–1987
    Acrylique et pâtes alimentaires sur toile
    101,6 x 152,5 cm
    Collection Mudam Luxembourg
    Acquisition 2007
    © Photo : Rémi Villaggi | Mudam Luxembourg

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