The ''Head of Franz Kafka'' (), also known as the ''Statue of Kafka'', is an outdoor
kinetic sculpture by
David Černý
David Černý (born 15 December 1967) is a Czech artist. His works can be seen in different locations around Prague as well as in his own, Prague-based museum, called Musoleum.
Early life
Černý was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. From 1988 t ...
depicting Bohemian German-language writer
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
, installed on 31 October 2014 outside of the
Quadrio shopping mall in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
.
The price was 30 million crowns, paid by the investor
CPI Property Group together with the adjacent Quadrio complex.
Kafka himself worked in the nearby building of a saving bank.
Description
The kinetic sculpture is 10.6 metres tall and made of 42 rotating stainless steelpanels weighting 24 tonnes in total. Each layer is mechanized and rotates individually. Inside, there are 21 motor modules and 1 kilometre of cables.
The programming of the sculpture's movements can be changed and the artist can create new choreographies. The flip side of this is the high maintenance, as servicing must be done every fortnight.
Criticism
Critics point out that the statue is more an advertising billboard for the mall than a work of art. Critics charge that the statue lacks a connection to Kafka's work, and that this shiny, glittering, and fascinating attraction lacks humility and sensitivity. When viewers look at the visually attractive and technologically perfect sculpture, they miss the lost and brooding soul of Franz Kafka.
Others disagree, arguing that the complexity of the steel panels and the change of form of the statue in time captures Kafka's work quite well. The statue attracts lots of visitors, so it has increased Kafka's presence in Prague.
References
External links
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{{Public art in Prague
2014 sculptures
Busts of writers
Cultural depictions of Franz Kafka
Heads in the arts
Kinetic sculptures in the Czech Republic
Monuments and memorials in Prague
New Town, Prague
Outdoor sculptures in Prague
Sculptures of men in the Czech Republic
Works about Franz Kafka