If Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) could came back to life and find himself in The National Art Center in Tokyo between March 8th and June 5th, 2017 I believe he would not be able to stop wondering.
The building itself is impressive – very modern and interesting, eye catching and has something “je ne sais quoi” – and this I come across very rarely in modern architecture. On top of that it has generous exhibition rooms and this exhibition space belongs to the largest in whole Japan. It was designed by Kishó Kurokawa (1934-2007), a Japanese architect who I find had one thing definitely in common with Mucha. Both incorporated philosophy in their works, they designed their creations in conformity with the views they had. They would not do something in a certain way simply because it was supposed to be so at the time. They went their own way. As a result of this they were very innovative.
I imagine Mucha, struggling and hardly making ends meet, before he made it by creating the now legendary Gismonda poster for Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. How would he feel in his time of hardships had he seen these throngs waiting patiently at the cashier to get the ticket for his exhibition, then waiting patiently in front of the exhibition rooms to get in? Would he be amazed seeing the exhibition rooms crowded with people marvelling at his works of art? And the fact that this all is taking place in Japan – a far away country. The Japanese study the descriptions of the paintings curiously and it is obvious they love what they see. While I was observing all this I had to think of him.
I think he would be very pleased and I think he would love the building as well as the exhibition rooms. I also could not escape a comparison with my own country. To put it mildly, I am a little bit sorry, or I am a little bit ashamed of how we treat works of art in Slovakia and how we destroy interesting premises for which we have no substitute.
There were 7 exhibition rooms dedicated to the works of Alfons Mucha. Three of them, displaying The Slav Epic, were very large. The complete cycle of 20 canvases of The Slav Epic was exhibited in three exhibition halls. Other rooms exhibited other works by him. The rooms were named: Alfons Mucha´s Art Nouveau, Celebration of the Turn of Century, The Fight for National Independence, Drawings and Publications. In these categories 80 of his works were presented. Altogether visitors could enjoy 100 of Alfons Mucha´s works. 🙂
