“Never judge a book by it’s cover” it is said. In the case of the Museo de Arte Moderno, this indeed applies. I do all this research in advance and then promptly forget why I put them on my itinerary in the first place. When approaching this building- I did so from the back side instead of the main street, and between the construction fence and the lackluster exterior I really questioned myself for a hot minute.
Museo de Arte Moderno was in a trio of buildings on a single day to visit in the Bosque De Chapultepec I (the fourth was supposed to be Chapultepec Castle but no dice on this visit)- the others being Museo Rufino Tamayo and Museo Nacional de Antropología. To find the entrance, I effectively had to walk around the entire thing and there was no part of that walk that gave my confidence a boost. It wasn’t until I got to the entrance and see the sign for the Brutalist exhibition that I recalled some part of excitement for visiting. But there was more delight to come.
In Mexico City, there is a particular kind of light. And the architecture in the city makes that light shine through the minimalist but large surface areas of single colors. Maybe there are other cities like Sante Fe which also do this, but since I have yet to visit- just surmising there. In this museum, there were 4 domes that I counted of an exceptional yellow/ amber color- all the same color and material. It is like the color of the deepest sun, and based on recently seeing Scriabin’s Prometheus, The Poem of Fire performed I learned it represents joy. To see so much of a single color is a transformative experience.
Here’s an example of one of the yellow domes I was walking about. This particular piece of mural artwork really resonated in that bath of color. I was remiss in paying enough attention to the artwork- I was too consumed with the color of the space.
The Brutalism in Mexico exhibit was excellent. I loved all the scaled models they brought in to accompany the drawings and photos. The level of craft demonstrated in the model making was very high, with some being of unique construction and materials. The photos above are from some of the buildings I could be curious to visit in person.
Bathrooms, stairs, corners. These are amongst a small list of spaces that peak my interest in a building. Easily forgotten as the spaces inbetween, when someone takes the time for them I will notice since I’m always looking for these. A rare selfie- but this bathroom is important to note on this trip because it was not the only one that was pretty open to the exterior, which is unusual. The bathroom in the Biblioteca Vasconcelos also had a lack of closedness.
There are a number of interesting in betweens in this building, and this entrance hall is packed with them. A place where multiple paths cross and spaces overlap in layers, it is completely reminiscent of a spaceship. The curves of the railing walls, with the layout of the lights, to the v shape of the stairs all played into the star of the building, the largest of the yellow domes. Truly, in contrast to th exterior of this building, the interior captured my attention and left me feeling just that, joy.
Address: Paseo de la Reforma y Ghandi s/n Bosque de Chapultepec, 11580 Mexico City DF, Mexico
Website: Architectuul write up
ofallthespaces 