Category Archives: sculpture

Rusty Flowers at DOX Center for Contemporary Art

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Installation view on the roof of DOX tower

One of the things I regret about Prague is my own stupidity: I forgot to charge my camera! So it died, and I have no photos of my own to share of the lovely openwork iron sculptures by Čestmír Suška, a Prague-based artist,  that I saw on the roof of DOX Center for Contemporary Art. The show brings together Suška’s Rusty Flowers series before the pieces return to their homes throughout the Czech Republic and the U.S. I loved the textured, rusty metal surfaces, but also the interior spaces of the sculptures, which gives a sense of playful lightness. The cut out surfaces interact with the light and their surroundings, allowing you to glimpse the hollow structure and its setting, and creating beautiful shadows.

 

David Černý’s Upside-down Horse, Prague

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Statue of  Saint Václav, commonly known in English as King Wenceslas, of Christmas Carol fame, in front of the Czech National Museum, Prague

The traditional 19th c. heroic statue of King Wenceslas by Josef Václav Myslbek dominates the top end of Wenceslas Square, a notable boulevard in Prague. Astride his steed, young King Wenceslas is a revered figure of the Czech people.

Enter Czech sculptor David Černý.

Saint Wenceslas by David Černý

Černý is known for his provocative sculptures, and, this one, inside the Lucerna Palace gallery not far from the traditional statue, demands similar attention. Sometimes considered a parody of the 19th c. statue, what deeper critique about the contemporary Czech republic lies here? Černý doesn’t comment on his work–and I imagine rarely needs to, since it is far from subtle–but this piece is generally considered an attack on Czech President Václav Klaus. There is an implicit contrast between the sainted Vaclav, who is legendary for being a pious and good leader, and the current president, and of course, riding a dead horse, strung upside down, hardly puts him in an effective position.

At the risk of accusing Černý of reverence for anything, one might say he too falls into the hero-worship of the distant past. Or perhaps the infant terrible merely thought it would be shocking to desecrate an iconic image. Saint Wenceslas is an incredibly effective installation, capturing the eye and provoking questions if not outrage. On my itinerary for my next trip to Prague, hopefully soon, is this great walking tour of Černý’s sculptures in Prague.

Memorial to the 1956 Revolution, City Park

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One of the more recent public monuments in Budapest, this memorial to those who fought for freedom during the ’56 revolution was created in 2006 to commemorate the 50th anniversary. One of the memorable acts of the beginning of the spontaneous revolt against the Stalinist government was the pulling down of a statue of Joseph Stalin. Wikimapia (first time I’ve seen that) has a helpful entry on the monument and the history behind it here.

There was, perhaps not surprisingly, a fair amount of discussion about the sculpture’s design at the time. But I quite like the abstract steel and wood sculpture that fades into, or rises out of, City Park, and I certainly like it more than the idea of a traditional heroic sculpture featuring figures.