Saturday, May 17, 2025

Comics links in the Mucha exhibit at the Phillips

 I just saw the show yesterday. Here's info from the Phillips Gallery on it. Relevant quotes are

  In the 1960s, Mucha’s distinctive style found new life in the vibrant poster art of the counterculture movement—becoming a trademark of psychedelic rock posters and album covers, influencing iconic bands like the Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones—as well as comic books, Japanese manga, and murals.

 Mucha’s visual language also made a lasting impact on Japanese manga, where his stylized forms can be seen in the work of artists such as Hideko Mizuno, one of the first successful “shojo manga (girls’ comics)” artists in Japan, and others. Underscoring his enduring influence, the exhibition will pair classic Mucha works with contemporary examples they inspired, from the cover of a 1969 album for Diana Ross & The Supremes to Joe Quesada’s comic book illustrations.

 Not mentioned therein is Mucha's work on designing Krokodil, a comics magazine in the late 19th century. Here's photos of that and the people that adapted his style.

 









Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise comic cover, and Mucha's original





 
Mangaka influenced by Mucha includes Yoshitaka Amano, Akemi Matsunae, and Hideko Mizuno.















 
Comic books by Joe Quesada,  John Tyler Christopher, and Michael Kaluta. None by Charles Vess surprisingly...






Two prints by Barry Windsor-Smith









If you missed it in DC, the exhibit is traveling the US.

.The Phillips Collection, in collaboration with The Mucha Foundation, announces the North American tour of Timeless Mucha: The Magic of Line, a groundbreaking exhibition that reappraises the work and influence of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939). Organized by the Mucha Foundation, this major exhibition will premiere at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2025, and will be on view through May 18, 2025. The exhibition will then travel to the New Mexico Museum of Art, Sante Fe, NM (June 20–September 20, 2025); the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL (November 19, 2025–March 1, 2026); the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (April 11–August 30, 2026); and the Museo Kaluz, Mexico City, Mexico (October 8, 2026–February 8, 2027).\
 
I'll try to improve and repost the photos, but no promises.

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