Jockey Short Shopping Bag

General Idea
1991/98, Altered Jockey Brand Undershorts, printed + signed labels and title sleeve
15.75"x27.5"
from an edition of 100
Estimate $2500

Artwork courtesy of Caviar20

General Idea formed in 1967 in Toronto and over the next nearly 30 years, the trio made a remarkable contribution to post-modern art. 

With their subversive approach and interest in parody and appropriation, General Idea addressed a broad range of social and art-world issues including consumerism, media consumption and the cult of the artist. 

At the onset of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980's - the illness and the apathy/ignorance toward it became a dominant theme in their work culminating in their famous "AIDS" which lampooned Robert Indiana's iconic "LOVE".

Another key facet of the group was the discourse around LGBT identity during an era of critical change and awareness in America. Whether directly or metaphorically GI explored gender and sexuality in their typically subversive and playful approach.

"Jockey Short Shopping Bag" is a paradigm of this characteristic from their oeuvre. It evokes some of the sculptures created by Claes Oldenburg during the heyday of the Pop / Fluxus era. 

Note: A Jockey company advertising post card is included. The title card is a photography of the projects’ original drawing made on a sheet of “Basilisk Hotel, Basel” letterhead. The signature and numbers on the embroidered labels have completely faded with time and were replaced with signatures on the title card.

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