Soumaya Museum

The striking curves of Museo Soumaya defy cameras — nothing is perfectly upright and the Guggenheim-esque ramps seem to keep you constantly off-balance. From the exterior, the asymmetrical building makes you shift your focus regardless of where you look:

The inside is even more unmooring:

It’s an interesting building and part of me wonders whether the architectural concept behind it was to play off of the name: thinking the Lebanese “Soumaya” is sort of unusual in Mexico with its extra vowels and curvaceous “S” and “Y” in there. (Not really appropriate, but I was reminded of the first lines of Lolita: “Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue, taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”)

The sculpture farm at the top of the building also defies cameras:

It’s insane how many Rodins are in there! And this place is FREE! Harks back to the nineteenth-century US public-minded benefactors of some of our major cultural institutions: Frick, Morgan, Mellon, Carnegie, et al.

Elsewhere, paintings stand unadorned by walls:

The museum at times feels otherworldly, like something from a science fiction film:

And then there’s phones:

I was intrigued by the footprint:

. . . and obviously you can’t beat the price: