Dos hitos fundamentales en su trayectoria
Una gran parte de los primeros proyectos de General Idea a comienzos de la década de 1970 se vinculan con el Mail Art (arte correo). Aunque algunos de ellos eran desarrollos incipientes, tenían una relación concreta con las dinámicas relacionales que rodean a la comunicación epistolar: lectura, reproducción, envío y relato. Es conocida además la correspondencia de General Idea con Ray Johnson, el padre del arte correo, y con otros de sus colegas para desarrollar proyectos artísticos, literarios y conceptuales. El grupo tuvo también contacto con muchos artistas brasileños y mexicanos, como Ulises Carrión.
This network of relationships shaped a rich experience that was captured in FILE Megazine (1972–1989). The magazine ironically mimics the graphic style of LIFE, since for General Idea, art imitates life in the same way that life imitates art. FILE was used as a tool for experimentation and also as a generator of the collective's mythology. It was also the center of operations and management tool for many of General Idea's projects. As one of its editorials states, “FILE was a cultural parasite in the bloodstream of commercial distribution systems that subtly altered the body of its host.” Some of the most radical artists of the time collaborated on it, including the Art Language collective, writer William Burroughs, and the musical groups Talking Heads and The Residents, among many others.
En 1975, publicaron en la revista su “Glamour Manifiesto”:
«Ésta es la historia de General Idea y de lo que queríamos. Queríamos ser famosos, glamorosos y ricos. Es decir, queríamos ser artistas, y sabíamos que si éramos famosos y glamorosos, podíamos decir que éramos artistas y lo seríamos.
We never felt we had to produce great art to be great artists. We knew that great art did not bring glamour and fame. We knew we had to keep one foot in the door of art and we were aware of the importance of berets and paintbrushes. We made public appearances dressed in painter's smocks. We knew that if we were famous and glamorous, we could say we were artists and we would be. We did it and we are. We are famous and glamorous artists.
Ésta es la historia del Glamour y el papel que desempeñó en nuestro arte».
