General Idea | Lucre

General Idea

Lucre

Zurich, Switzerland: Kunsthalle Zurich, 2010

24 x 21 cm. 

Edition of 100

A chenille and embroidery on felt crest, one of ten over-sized patches produced and self-published by General Idea between 1988 and 1991. The crests reproduced some of the trio’s most iconic motifs, recalling both traditional European flags, and high school varsity jackets. 

Intended as a limited edition, fewer than a hundred were produced. The second edition was produced as a fund-raiser for the Kunsthalle Basel in 2010. Seventy-four were made available for purchase individually, and 26 were sold in signed and lettered complete sets.

Lucre features three stylized dollar signs (a self-portrait?) against  crimson red, black, and white. It is possible that the dollar signs are personified in what seems to be a pseudo self-portrait, a recurring trope throughout General Idea's oeuvre that envisions the trio in campy, cartoonish, or absurd renditions of group self-portraits.

A similar, larger crest (54 x 43.5 cm.) of the same name was produced in 1990, without the group name [below, bottom]. Also in 1990, the design appeared on a black shopping bag [see next post]. 

The complete series of crests is on display at Art Metropole until March 29th, as part of On Display: General Idea, a collection of rare and out of print artists’ books, catalogues, and editions by the Canadian collective, produced between 1975–2022 [below]. 

Visit the Art Metropole General Idea page, here, for more information.