Test Tube

Artists A.A. Bronson, Felix Partz, and Jorge Zontal worked together for 25 years under the moniker General Idea. They addressed consumerism, the manipulative power of the media, the commodification of art, and AIDS—which claimed the lives of Partz and Zontal. This photo is a still from their 1979 video, Test Tube, featuring guests of the Colour Bar Lounge in the Miss General Idea Pavilion—a fictional setting referenced in much of the group’s work. The video, commissioned by a Dutch museum for television broadcast, appropriated formats, including a talk show, a soap opera, and advertisements.