Public Art

Czechs seem to love public art. Their most famous public artist David Cerny is a most active and anti-establishment artist that seems to be loved by the people.

King Wenceslas astride his upside down dead horse

One of a series of 6 door knobs on shops leading to Charles Bridge - frog, snake, duck x2, fish x2

This one was outside the dungeons at Prague Castle. Apt I thought.

These guys piss in the fountain at the Kafka Museum and they even 'shake it off'. I believe they also write quotes in the pond but I didn't see this - one of them seemed 'out of order' as he didn't shimmy in the middle like his mate on the right.

This man looks rather like our swaggy and sits outside one of the posh hotels in one of the shopping drags. The lass with him was with her sister - one of two Aussie girls I buddied with for a day. The others at the hostel thought they were my daughters. I could have been their mum - they were only 18 & 21...

Don't know if you'd call this public art, but I think it counts as a public art form from its time. Before 1770, when they introduced house numbers, every house was identified by unique names and art. Not many survive, but there is a good collection still visible on the main walk up to the Castle. The 'Three violins' and 'Ewe' were just two.

Franz Kafka Monument - He was a very famous Czech writer who struggled with his mind and died at 40 of tuburculosis. His writing was banned throughout the communinist era and while he wrote in the early 20th century (1883-1925) he foretold much of the downside of socialism, buraucracy and managed social structure. From my visit to the Kafka Museum I get the impression he was a bit of a George Orwell type. Very dark. He was a german speaking Jew living in occupied Prague during and after the first world war.

These little guys were a lovely surprise as I walked back along the river on  Kampa Island after a long day in the Castle district.This is only half the row waddling off into the river.

This is a really bad shot, but outside the Museum of Contemporary Art there were a number (5 I think) of babies crawling in the dark. I couldn't get enough light to show them well. I don't know if they are left overs from the Telecom Tower baby project. They just loomed out of the dark as I walked along the river.