The Proposal

”The Proposal” follows conceptual artist and writer Jill Magid as she develops an unorthodox project to explore artistic legacy. It takes as its subject the Pritzker Prize winning Mexican architect Luis Barragán, which is aggressively "protected” by its Swiss copyright holders, at the expense of public access. Barragán's professional archive – including the rights to his name and work – was acquired in 1995 by Swiss furniture company Vitra, under the auspices of the Barragan Foundation. The foundation is directed by the wife of Vitra's chairman at the time , who allegedly bought the archive for his then-fiancée as an engagement gift. The project that ”The Proposal” documents has raised an extended debate in Mexico on Barragán's archives.