Haute Culture: General Idea — A Retrospective, 1969–1994
Opening July 30
Art Gallery of Toronto
317 Dundas St. W
Toronto ON
M5T 1G4
416 979 6648
Featuring more than 300 works spanning 20,000 sq. ft. of Gallery space, Haute Culture is an exhibition of unprecedented scale celebrating the groundbreaking work of the seminal Canadian artist group. The exhibition is the first comprehensive retrospective devoted to General Idea, collaboration between artists AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal that began Toronto in 1969.
Haute Culture is conceived and organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario in conjunction with the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris. The exhibition is generously supported by the Volunteers of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Contemporary programming at the AGO is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
On July 29, the AGO will celebrate the opening of Haute Culture: General Idea – A Retrospective, 1969–1994 with a free, after-hours public opening in Walker Court. The event includes an advance preview of Haute Culture, with remarks by AA Bronson, curator Frédéric Bonnet, and Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO’s Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO.
General Idea Opening Reception
Friday, July 29, 2011, 6–9 pm
Art Gallery of Ontario
FREE admission; Cash bar
Related Programming:
General Idea and the Development of Postmodernism
Wednesday and Thursday, October 19–20, 5 – 8 pm
Weston Family Learning Centre
General Idea played a critical role in developing the practices of postmodernism in the 1970s and 1980s. Participants will explore how this artist group’s multi-disciplinary practice defined this pivotal set of changes in international art and will look at the work of some of the artists influenced by General Idea.
McCready Lecture on Canadian Art by Philip Monk: Marshall McLuhan, General Idea, and Me!
Wednesday, November 9, 7–8:30 pm
Jackman Hall | Free
General Idea were often dismissed as camp “triviality.” Yet they created a fictional system based on popular culture that was as coherent as the media analyses of Marshall McLuhan and the International Situationists. The lecture considers General Idea’s contribution to the Toronto School of communication theory.
The General Idea about General Idea: a panel discussion
Wednesday, November 16, 7 pm
Jackman Hall
Join Frédéric Bonnet, Paris-based independent curator of Haute Culture: General Idea – A Retrospective, 1969-1994, and other panelists for a stimulating discussion about this seminal Canadian artist group’s diverse and increasingly influential production.
New talks and events are ongoing. To register, learn more, or get the latest news about exciting events or new talks, please visit www.ago.net/talks.
