getting the general idea...or not

Now things start to get interesting: Read about Vancouver born, NYC-based artist A.A. Bronson's request to have the National Gallery of Canada take back his powerful artwork, Felix, June 5, 1994--currently on loan to the National Portrait Gallery for Hide/Seek--on MAN here.

Read the actual text of Bronson's e-mail to NPG Director Martin Sullivan on Hyperallergic here.

Bronson's closing line: "To edit queer history in this way is hurtful and disrespectful."

Felix is a death portrait of Felix Partz, Bronson's 25-year collaborator in the Canadian General Idea collective, a group known for media satire and AIDS activism. It's possibly the most moving, heartbreaking piece in the entire show; losing it would be a blow to the exhibition and the museum, and a significant loss for the museum-going public.

The Smithsonian didn't blink when the Warhol Foundation threatened to withhold a few hundred thousand dollars of their funding. Let's see what happens if the actual art itself starts leaving the building.

UPDATE: Looks like Bronson's piece isn't going anywhere, as far as the NPG is concerned.


Pictured: A. A. Bronson, Felix, June 5, 1994, lacquer on vinyl, 84" X 168"