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

* {{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