Mucha Muzeum - AHB

The Mucha museum and gallery far surpassed my expectations. I did not expect to become a fan of art nouveau, but the vibrancy of the work really captured my attention. The film helped me understand Mucha, allowing further appreciation of his art. And like Amanda said, I was really struck by his love and dedication to the Czech/Slavic peoples. Mucha made great attempts to use his art to build bridges, and one of the most important connections that people can make is to their shared history. The Slav Epic could speak to nearly any other people group, its themes and visuals speak to the common condition of man. I also really the films explanations of different colors being used for past, present, and future. Mucha's dedication to the work is inspiring, but it makes you wonder how many other projects like that never take off due to lack of funds.

For me the highlight of the gallery was Mucha's more commercial stuff. It's sad that this kind of art is often dismissed because of its intended audience, but I like to look at it the other way around. How often do you ever see greatness in commercial art/advertising? It blows me away that Mucha could take a job from a cigarette papers company and turn it into something beautiful.

I also really like Mucha's multi-panel work. His depiction of the arts and the times of the day are so visually communicative.

The development of a personal style is a really amazing thing. I almost wonder if people like Mucha have a vastly different perception of the world and if their art simply overflows from the world that they see.