It documents the rise of the group through their television appearances in the Netherlands in the 60s, their responses to (and subversions of) other populist art movements, and their eventual involvement in pop art as a direct response to the emerging AIDS crisis on the 1980s.
As it turns out, it would be a very personal connection indeed; two of General Idea's members, Jorge Zontal and Felix Partz, would perish from the disease in the mid 90s. The surviving member of the group, AA Bronson, is the driving force of the film, yet is a subtle presence, with a notable lack of the theatrics and playful drama General Idea employed in their heyday.
General Idea were never known for cuddly, comforting work, even with the paintings of poodles, babies, and hilarious self-portraits. They were provocative, funny, and very keenly aware of the power of the emerging mainstream media.
Annette Mangaard's film is a smart, savvy collection of interviews, old footage, and narrative that cleverly weaves the history of the group with the context of their art-making and personal relationships. There is a strong through narrative that is keenly focused on the interconnections of the group themselves, and the forces that gave rise to their particular brand of dada.
Mangaard takes the audience back to Toronto of the 1960s, a time when, as Bronson notes, the art scene was still in its infancy. Initially, brought together via theatre work, the members of General Idea initially lived together in a storefront property before moving to Europe for a time, where they had a television program called "Colour Lab". The program made clever use of the still-faddish variety-show format as a force for comedy and subversion.
Even now, the clips shown of Colour Lab have a startlingly, provocative modernity to them; one can't help but be reminded of the 1990s video art troupe Emergency Broadcast Network, who were equally adept at using and abusing the technology in both style and content.Â
It's equally interesting to note the ways in which Mangaard suggests the cyclical nature of the art world; GI used mainstream art as their foundation, turning it into underground subversion, which was later co-opted by mainstream culture. The scope and impact of GI's artwork, particularly the AIDS logos, heralds, sculptures, and capsule installations, are shown with a vivacity the group would have certainly applauded.
The low-key style of the film is perfectly suited to its subjects -allowing their work to come through loud and clear, without any interference. Mangaard and her team wisely provide plenty of context the circumstances that gave rise to GI, and the ideas that fed them until 1994. As Bronson notes in a voiceover, "we had no sense of anything we could relate to in the art world, or any other world. By binding together, we could form some sense of community that could allow us to grow more freely and quickly than we could within art world itself as it was at that time."
The personal connection of the group's members is explored in the last third of the documentary, as the deaths of Zontal and Partz are related with heartbreaking honesty and grace. Just as the Spanish installation Pharmacopia, the 7-foot-long capsules, or the painting Playing Doctor (which depicts the three listening to one another's hearts) are not meant to be comforting, so neither are the scenes of the artists' passing.
Respecting and understanding his colleagues (and lifelong friends), Bronson took photos of the deceased Partz, and the dying Zontal; in accordance with the death of General Idea, he also photographed himself, and inlaid the stark, black and white portrait on the top of a sarcophagus. The brutal honesty with which these scenes are depicted is both disturbing and deeply moving.
The 'Fin de Siecle' of the title, an installation depicting three harp seals, is a fitting symbol of the humour, subversion, intelligence and essential humanity the members of General Idea shared with the world. The words Bronson writes, shown at the end of the film, allow the audience a perfect reflection of a group whose work is still being felt in every aspect of popular culture: "In us behold the looking glass of life: such you will be, for we were what you are."
