Franz Kafka head

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Franz Kafka Head in front of the Quadrio Center

Franz Kafka Head ( Hlava Franze Kafky in Czech ) is a monumental moving sculpture by the Czech artist David Černý . It represents the head of the Prague writer Franz Kafka . The work of kinetic art was installed in 2014 in front of the Quadrio shopping and office center in the center of Prague, which opened in the same year . The installation is also called Metamorphosis , alluding to Kafka's story The Metamorphosis .

description

Franz Kafka head in motion

The sculpture including the base is 10.6 meters high and consists of 42 mirrored stainless steel plates that rotate independently of one another around a central axis . The lightest plate weighs 190 kg, the heaviest 520 kg. Together they make up Kafka's head. The maximum speed is 6 revolutions per minute. Mirrors are arranged on the 2.8 meter high base of the sculpture, they are supposed to convey the illusion of weightlessness. The 40-minute choreography consists of 15 sequences of movements. The control enables the artist to program further movement sequences and thus modify the choreography.

The sculpture weighs 39 tons, of which 24 tons are stainless steel. 42 motors inside ensure the mobility of the 42 plates. The cost of manufacture and installation amounted to 30 million kroner and was funded by CPI Property Group - the owner of the Quadrio shopping center.

reception

Černý's sculpture was judged controversially. You can see them as a link between art and modern technology. The layers that make up the bust can be interpreted as an indication of the complexity of Kafka's work; their constant movement can indicate the instability and difficult grasp of his world. Critics argue that it is less a work of art and more a glittering attraction that was placed in front of the mall for marketing purposes. There would be no real reference to Kafka's personality or work. This relation is also called into question by the fact that a few years earlier Černý had created an almost identical moving sculpture in the city of Charlotte , North Carolina, that has nothing to do with Kafka.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Juliane Bloch: David Černý: In the footsteps of an action artist in downtown Prague - The transformation of a glittering Franz K. Radio Prague International , September 9, 2016, accessed on November 6, 2021 .
  2. ^ A b Construction and building procedures of Kafka's moving head. quadrio.cz, accessed on November 6, 2021 (English). With a 6-minute video of the head spinning.
  3. a b c Josefína Absolonová: Franz Kafka očima tří českých sochařů - Hlava Franze Kafky od Davida Černého. České galerie, accessed November 6, 2021 (Czech). German: Franz Kafka through the eyes of three Czech sculptors - Franz Kafka's head by David Černý.
  4. Kafkovu sochu per complex na Národní TRIDE vyrobil David Černý. Hospodářské noviny, October 31, 2014, accessed November 6, 2021 (Czech). German: Kafka's statue for the complex on Národní třída was created by David Černý.
  5. ^ Prague - Nové Město - gigantická pohyblivá hlava Franze Kafky. Turistika.cz, April 16, 2017, accessed November 6, 2021 (Czech). German: Prague - Neustadt - gigantic moving head by Franz Kafka .
  6. January Velinger: New David Cerny sculpture, Metalmorphosis, unveiled in Charlotte. Radio Prague International, September 25, 2007, accessed November 6, 2021 .

Web links

Commons : Franz-Kafka-Kopf  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 4 ′ 54 ″  N , 14 ° 25 ′ 15 ″  E