21 May 2018 0001 GMT+0000
Considered “enfant terrible” in the European and Czech art scene, David Černý frequently has courted both controversy and amusement from the beginning in 1991 with the Pink (Soviet) Tank. Is he infuriating and crude or enlightened and hilarious? Is he misunderstood social commentator or attention-seeking hooligan? He continues to make art at home in Prague, and provoke strong reactions.
Černý’s creations can be found throughout the Czech capital city. You can decide for yourself if his artwork is inspiring or dull.
Location: Television Tower, Žižkov.
DPP: Metro A to station Jiřího z Poděbrad; tram 11, 13 to stop Jiřího z Poděbrad; tram 5, 9, 15, 26 to stop Lipanská.
The tower is the tallest structure in Prague with a height of 216 metres above sea-level. But I think it’s the faceless babies which are the true attraction. First installed on the tower in 2000, the sculpture consisting of ten fibreglass babies became a permanent exhibition in 2001. In October 2017, “Babies” were removed from the tower for long-needed cleaning and repairs. The sculpture is scheduled to return to the tower in spring 2018. More information in English about visiting the TV Tower can be found here.
Photo: 14 March 2009.
Photo: 14 March 2009.
Žižkov tower (Žižkovská věž), at Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad and Přemyslovská. Photo: 4 August 2013.
Location: Museum Kampa, Malá Strana.
DPP: tram 12, 15, 20, 22, 23 to stop Hellichova.
Residing next to the museum on Kampa Island are three bronze “babies”. Check out the creepy slots for faces: effective, and yikes.
Photo: 6 December 2008.
Location: Galerie Futura, Smíchov.
DPP: Metro B to station Anděl, tram 9, 10, 15, 16 to stop Bertramka.
Two sets of headless bent-over fiberglass figures are found outside towards the (ahem) rear of the gallery; visitors are invited to climb the ladders to inspect each figure. I hear music emanating from an orifice. On this wet cold autumn day, I’m the only one here to ‘suffer’ the voluntary embarrassment of climbing up the stairs and sticking my head into the back end of one of the figures. Inside the circular aperture is a video of two men in masks feeding each other slop to the tune of Queen’s “We Are The Champions”; see video below. In caricature are Vaclav Klaus, who was Czech president (2003-2013), and Milan Knížák, who was director of the Czech National Gallery (1990-2011).
Photo: 6 November 2016.
Photo: 6 November 2016.
Location: Na Zábradlí at Anenské náměstí (Anna Square), Staré Město.
DPP: Metro A or B, to station Můstek; Metro B to station Národní třída; tram 2, 9, 17, 18, 22, 23 to stop Národní divadlo.
Hidden in a corner of the Old Town near Charles Bridge is a little plaza named after Saint Anna. Something resembling an “embryo” glows red on the side of the building for Divadlo Na zábradlí (Theatre on the Balustrade). Is there some mystery inside to be revealed or something more insidious to be unleashed to the world?
This photo and below: 5 November 2016.
Is something lurking in the glowing embryo?
Location: Husova at Betlémské náměstí (Bethlehem Square), Staré Město.
DPP: Metro A or B, to station Můstek; Metro B to station Národní třída; tram 2, 9, 17, 18, 22, 23 to stop Národní divadlo.
Look up, waaaaay up. The people around you will look strangely at you: what is he looking? Up above, a well-dressed gentleman in glasses and a suit hangs onto a beam with one arm, his calm steely gaze over you, me, and his surroundings. The man represented is supposed to be Sigmund Freud: what would he have thought about all this? Is his ceaseless gaze judging us with superiority?
Photo: 20 April 2008.
Photo: 20 October 2008.
Photo: 6 October 2009 with Canon 450D, 70-300 glass, settings: 1/320-sec, f/8, ISO400, 225mm focal length (360mm full-frame equivalent).
Location: Palác Lucerna, Nové Město.
DPP: Metro A or B, to station Můstek; Metro A or C, to station Muzeum; tram 3, 5, 6, 9, 14, 24 to stop Václavské náměstí.
This sculpture of Wenceslas sitting on a dead upside-down horse is a parody of the memorial statue by Myslbek (unveiled 1913, completed 1924) outside at Wenceslas Square nearby. I think the dead beaten horse says a lot about what Cerny thinks about a heroic figure in Czech history with near mythological dimensions. (In 2017, Palác Lucerna was added to the list of Czech National Cultural Monuments.)
Photo: 27 July 2013; compare this sculpture with the more “respectable” one below.
Pomník svatého Václava (Saint Wenceslas statue) by Josef Myslbek. Photo: 2 July 2010 at the top/southeast end of Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square).
Location: OC Quadrio (since 2014), Nové Město.
DPP: Metro B to station Národní třída; tram 2, 9, 18, 22, 23 to stop Národní třída.
At the eastern end of the Quadrio shopping centre (Obchodní centrum, OC) is a large shiny rotating head of Franz Kafka, whose pieces rotate in different directions before coming back together as a whole. The 11-metre tall kinetic piece consists of 42 horizontal layers which can all move independently; see video below. With his face in a constant state of metamorphosis, the sculpture can represent Kafka’s anguish and complicated personality, a giant piece of metal reflecting outwards what might otherwise have been a form of introverted hell. This 2014 sculpture in Prague is based on his smaller 2007 sculpture, “Metalmorphosis“, in Charlotte, NC, USA.
Photo: 5 November 2016.
Photo: 5 November 2016.
Location: Franz Kafka Museum, Malá Strana.
DPP: Metro A to station Malostranská; tram 2, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23 to stop Malostranská; tram 12, 15, 20, 22, 23 to stop Malostranské náměstí.
Two statues relieve themselves in a metal pool of water in the shape of the map of the Czech Republic. The statues whirl and twirl their “streams” to spell out famous Czech sayings. The sculpture has its own mobile number; a text sent to that number will make the sculpture pause and begin “streaming” whatever that text message is. Located next to the Franz Kafka museum, the sculpture “mocks the idea of art as a cultural enterprise devoted to the national interest.”
Photo: 3 July 2008.
Location: back of German Embassy at Vlašská 19, Malá Strana.
DPP: Tram 12, 15, 20, 22, 23 to stop Malostranské náměstí.
The “Trabant on four legs” at the rear of the German embassy marks an extraordinary set of events in late-summer/early-autumn of 1989. Thousands of East German refugees made their way into Prague and swarmed into the Embassy of West Germany (at the time) to seek safe passage to the west. Conditions on the embassy grounds quickly deteriorated, and after rounds of talks and negotiations, the various parties and nations agreed to allow people to leave the embassy, sparking this unforgettable scene on the evening of 30 September 1989. “Quo Vadis?” in Latin means “who goes there?”
The sculpture is listed on this Czech website listing places commemorating former Communist rule.
Back of the German Embassy in Prague. This photo and below: 17 March 2010.
That car’s got some legs.
Location: DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Holešovice.
As part of the “All Hail Sport” temporary exhibition at DOX, Cerny’s sculpture of a lower torso with legs in running motion directly references (Emil) Zátopek. He was perhaps one of the finest Olympians and Czechs about whom people have rarely or never heard.
Photo: 7 November 2016.
More: jedno, dvĕ, tři, čtyři, pĕt.
I made all photos and short video clips on multiple visits to Prague in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2016. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-3D9.
Posted by HL fotoeins
Categories: Arts, Culture, Czech Republic, Europe, Photography, Travel, Urban Photography
Tags: contemporary art, Czech art, David Cerny, fotoeins, My Prague, Prag, Prague, Praha, sculpture
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Interesting and unusual views of Prague, thank you!
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By urban liaisons on 21 May 2018 at 0548 GMT+0000
This post was a lot of fun to research, assemble, and write. You’re welcome, and in turn, thank you for your kind comment!
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By fotoeins on 6 Jun 2018 at 1616 GMT+0000
This artwork is fascinating! It’s so wonderful to see something interesting and different in art. I’ve never been to Prague but it’s certainly on the list.
Thank you for a great article and lots of photos!
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By Denea on 15 Jun 2018 at 0831 GMT+0000
Hello, Denea, and thanks for your comment. I can’t help but think that Cerny’s work is also a subconscious “hate” on all the visitors who continually pile into the city. What’s always true about his art is that there’s not much middle ground: either you love it or you hate it, and perhaps, that feeling also extends to the controversial Cerny himself. I think Prague is a beautiful city, especially at night, and I believe you should try and visit Prague (as well as Vienna and Budapest). Thanks again for stopping by!
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By fotoeins on 15 Jun 2018 at 1919 GMT+0000
[…] Miminka (babies) on the television tower: Prague, Czech Republic – 14 March 2009 (450D). […]
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By Look up, waaaaay up (LAPC) on 1 Oct 2018 at 0101 GMT+0000
[…] Tượng “Ngựa” lộn ngược trong sảnh tòa nhà Lucerna. Ảnh từ trang này […]
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By » David Černý (phần 2): Những bức tượng khiến nhiều người đỏ mặt on 11 Mar 2019 at 0735 GMT+0000
[…] “Brownnosers”, by David Černý. Futura Gallery – 6 November 2016. […]
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By Something different / etwas anders (LAPC) on 8 Apr 2019 at 1005 GMT+0000
[…] “Proudy” (“Piss”), by David Černý. In front of the Franz Kafka Museum, the automated two figures urinate into a pool in the shape of the Czech Republic. When a text message is sent to the mobile number connected to this sculpture, the figures “spell” out the text. Photo from 3 Oct 2008 (450D). […]
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By Street art around the world (LAPC) on 14 May 2019 at 1902 GMT+0000
[…] “Brownnosers,” by David Černý, at the rear of the Futura Gallery – 6 Nov 2016. […]
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By Previously, in Prague (LAPC) on 15 Apr 2020 at 0101 GMT+0000