Invenção da cor, Penetrável Magic square # 5, De luxe

Magic Square # 5 (1977) is part of a group of six artworks articulated around the idea of a “square” in both senses of the word - a geometric shape and a public plaza. These artworks are proposals for open air architectural structures that the artist never executed during his life, existing as minutely detailed plans composed of texts, blueprints, technical designs, diagrams, models and samples. Based on the geometric square, these spaces are offered to the viewer as public squares where people can spend time either alone or in shared experience with others, while getting into live contact with forms, colors and materials. Since the beginning of his career, Oiticica tended to create categories for naming and organizing his artworks. Thus, the Magic Squares belong to the group of the Penetráveis [Penetrables], in which the artist’s research concerning the occupation of space by color took on an environmental scale, proposing a renovation of architectural space, lending it aspects of a garden, a public square, a labyrinth, a fun park or a warehouse. Constructed posthumously, these artworks are a coherent means of furthering Oiticica’s legacy, lending new vitality to his ambitious proposal of linking art and life.