MODO - Museo del Objeto del Objeto, Mexico City

The Museo del Objeto del Objeto, or MODO, is a museum in Mexico City and the first museum in Mexico dedicated to design and communications. It was opened in 2010 based on a collection of commercial packaging, advertising, graphic arts, common devices and many other objects dating back to 1810 collected by Bruno Newman over more than forty years. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of its collection of more than 30,000 items from two centuries, and it is dedicated to the research in the history of design and communications, as well as the promotion of collecting in general. The museum offers workshops, seminars, conferences and other activities intended to promote design and communication.OrganizationThe Museo del Objeto del Objeto is part of a long tradition in Mexico City of collectors who donate their collections in order to found or expand museums. Art collectors and other kinds of collectors have been behind museums such as Soumaya, Franz Mayer, Museo del Juguete and others. Collectors have also been important to the development of state museums in the country as well. The museum is a private entity under a foundation of the same name, which was founded by Bruno Newman, a collector and founder/director of Zimat Communications in Mexico City. The museum is one of several efforts in the country to promote and consolidate information about the history and culture of commercial design in Mexico.Newman’s collection forms the basis of the museum foundation’s mission, which is to encourage the research and promotion of communication and design in Mexico. MODO is considered to be the first of its kind, with many of its objects not normally displayed in museums in the country. It focuses on the analysis of its collection and similar objects using the principles of design and communications as well as the use of new technologies. The museum is also dedicated to the support of collectors of every day objects, promoting formal arrangement and study of the objects collected. One reason the museum promotes collecting is that very often items related to design and communication are simply thrown away as junk, such as 1980s sneakers and 1970s skateboards.