My bruises have bruises. I'm blaming the cheerleading. Review writing is a whole lot less dangerous....
My bruises have bruises. I'm blaming the cheerleading. Review writing is a whole lot less dangerous.
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"If I could express with a single word what it is that distinguishes Tamayo from other painters, I would say without a moment's hesitation: Sun. For the sun is in all his pictures, whether we see it or not." - Nobel Prize-winning poet Octavio Paz
Now I see sun every day living in Mexico city, though it often comes from behind a layer of smog, but I was intrigued to see sun on canvas - lots of canvases to be precise. Rufino Arellanes Tamayo was a Zapotecan Indian painter born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico, to Mestizo parents. I don't even know what all that means, but it sounds impressive. I knew nothing at all about him before moving to Mexico, but quickly discovered he has his own art museum on the edge of Chapultepec Park.
A life size yellow VW Beetle made from hand-stitched Vinyl.
A wall covered entirely in comics.
A recreation of the Big Bang using Playmobil and McDonalds
wrappers.
These are just some of the things currently being exhibited at the museum. One thing that unfortunately is not on display at the museum is even a single work of art by Tamayo. That was surprising to me - I could understand if the museum was named after a rich benefactor who had never picked up a paint brush in his or her life, but to have a museum named after a celebrated artist and not include a single piece of his work? That's quite unusual. Luckily the exhibits currently on at the museum made the trip worth it, but I still left slightly perplexed.
The museum is housed in a purpose-built structure to the north side of Reforma, the main avenue which dissects Chapultepec. As you approach it, various sculptures and dozens of friendly squirrels come into view. The museum itself looks very ordinary from the outside, but inside is a different matter. Although there is a manned reception desk on your right as you go in, entrance is currently free - I think (no one has asked me to pay on any of my visits). There is little written visitor information to help you which means you have to figure things out for yourself, though variations in lighting and wall colourings are used to change the mood and move you from one exhibit to another through the maze of tunnels and rooms.
At the moment there is an eclectic mix of standard canvas paintings, photographs and sculptures, interspersed with silent movies playing on continuous loop. The art is ultra-modern, and includes abstract and less than abstract pieces - right now they have a canvas painted 44% black, 30% green and 26% white with the title "Starbucks" and they also have a simple photo of a booth in a typical American diner, for example. One thing I do like about the museum is the information on each piece (which is in English as well as Spanish) gives you a little background to the work and a history of the artist, not just the usual artist's name / date of production / inane details about how it was created (does anyone really care if something is or isn't "watercolours on acrylic" or "pencil on card"?)
This museum is very unpredictable. The first time I went I was disappointed to find they were renovating, and had only one exhibit on. This was inspired by, but did not include, the work of Tamayo, and was part of a competition though no information was given on which of the pieces had won the prizes. On my latest visit, this exhibition was still running, but was joined by an additional 2 others, giving a more rounded museum experience, and making the gallery more worthy of a visit. The exhibitions run from between two and four months each, often overlapping, so it's important to check the website (parts of which are in English) prior to your visit.
The first time I went was mid-week after a trip to Immigration which is just up the road. I was trying to celebrate finally being a legal resident with a spot of culture but the museum was deserted, and that one exhibition quite small, so I took myself off for a pancake breakfast instead. This time I went on a Saturday afternoon, the start of a bank holiday weekend, and it was noticeably more crowded but not unpleasantly packed. I would imagine the day of the week was the predominant reason, but the extra two exhibits might have had something to do with it too. The museum is open every day except Monday, from 10am - 6pm. It doesn't close for lunch though interestingly its shop does - from 2pm-3pm. However if this closure coincides with the timing of your visit, don't feel too bad. Since the exhibits here are temporary, the postcards, books and general arty souvenirs that the shop stocks tend to be general art themed and not related to what you have just seen. It's the same stuff you can buy anywhere - at the Museum of Modern Art across the road, at the Fine Arts Palace, or indeed in any one of many art galleries worldwide.
I never did get to see dozens of sun-drenched canvases though I found a list of places where Tamayo's art is currently on display and I've been to a few of them (e.g. the Art Institute of Chicago and the Guggenheim in New York) so I probably have seen some of his stuff already without realising. However, if you adjust your expectations, ignore what Trip Advisor says ("A collection of art by Mexican great Rufino Tamayo as well as a scattering of paintings by foreign artists" - um, no) and trust me to tell you the truth instead, you can enjoy a trip to this small but interesting museum. I might not have returned after that brief first trip, but I'm glad I did, because it wasn't what I was expected, but was still worth a second look.
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GETTING THERE
You can walk to the museum through the park - it's to the north east side, north of Reforma avenue, and nearish to the Anthropology Museum. Alternatively you can get the Metro to Auditorio on Line 7 (the orange one) or if you fancy a little walk, to either Polanco (7 / orange) or Chapultepec (1 / Pink). Chapultepec Park which I previously reviewed is a really nice place to visit, and since the museum is not large you can easily combine the two. The Turibus also stops nearby so you can hop off, pop into the museum, and hop back on again very easily.
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