Hidden Prague #5 - A Fly On The Wall and other Oddities

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you may remember my post in February this year about the Hanging Man (strictly Man Hanging Out). In that post, I urged people to not only look around them at the wonders of the city but also to look upwards.

Here are some more strange things you can get a glimpse of if you're looking in the right places. 

First up are the human figures which are part of Michal Trpàk's "Slight Uncertainty" installation. These were originally part of a much larger group of figures displayed in the EBC office building in Prague, but some have made their way to other parts of town.

These two can be found at the intersection of Na Zbořenci and Odborů. Although they look like cement, they are actually made of polyester and are meant to represent "the people belonging to the working middle-class society who have taken the biggest hit in the recession. The airborne figures portray an expression of sadness, despair and an apparent instability". Each figure took about six months to create from initial drawing and is about 160cm tall.

While you're there, check out the giant fly on the building behind the man with the umbrella. Most people miss it, and quite honestly, it is pretty gross. Interestingly I can't find any information about the creator or intent behind this monster, but then this is Prague!

Next are the mysterious figures sitting atop the building (Deymův Palace) on Voršilská which runs between Národní and Ostrovní (where I'm currently staying and writing this post!). Once again, I can't find any provenance associated with the three figures, but my research indicates they were installed sometime after 2005.

Finally, in this group, it would seem appropriate to mention the figure of King Wenceslas riding on an upside down horse which is hanging from the atrium roof in the Lucerna Palace. It's another David Černý sculpture...

The figure is either called "Horse", "Dead Horse" or "Saint Wenceslas" depending on which source you use and was created in 1999, but, as usual, Černý makes little comment about his work. However, I'm sure that the location of the statue, just a few hundred metres away from the more conventional monument to King Wenceslas in Václavské náměstí is no coincidence! I leave you to speculate on the meaning.

Remember - in Prague, it's often 'onwards and upwards'! If you know of any other upwardly mobile oddities, please leave a comment or drop me a note.

Hidden Prague #2 - Kafka's Head

I wasn't entirely sure whether this should be a 'Hidden Prague' post, or merely a 'Prague Landmark'. In the end, I decided on the former because when my neighbour from the UK came to stay with me last month, he spent two hours fruitlessly searching for it to no avail. Eventually I managed to point him in the right direction, and he went home a happy bunny, having seen everything on his list. When I first discovered it, it was only because I'd come out of the shopping mall the wrong way in my early days - and it had only been recently been unveiled, is it wasn't in any of the tourist guides.

Kafka's Head is another David Černý sculpture but on a massive scale. It stands 10.2 metres tall and is made up of 42 independent rotating tiers, held together by a kilometre of cable, driven by a motor and series of relay motors, and weighing in at 39 tonnes.

The whole assembly was erected in late 2014 above Národní třída metro station at the back of the Quadrio shopping mall and business centre (or here on Google maps).

Have a look at the video...(which seems not to show up in Safari. If you can't see the embedded video, trying clicking here)

For more technical information on the sculpture have a look at this page.

Prague Landmarks #5 - The Hanging Man

I've mentioned in other posts in this blog that when you're in Prague, you really need to look all around you to be able to really appreciate the city, especially some of its quirkier features. And all around includes looking upwards in places where you'd least think about looking upwards!

One of these places is the intersection of Husova and Skořepka in Stare Mesto. As you approach the intersection it's easy to keep your eyes focused in front of you as a number of small backstreets converge, and there are a couple of interesting little shops and restaurants which can easily distract you. But if you pause for a moment and look skywards you'll see the somewhat disturbing sight of a man hanging from a beam above the street.

Man Hanging Out (Husova, Prague 1)

The 'Man Hanging Out' (to give it its the correct name) is another of David Cernvy's weird and whacky pieces - you may remember his name as the designer of the babies on the TV Tower. This one is a 7ft tall bronze coloured fibreglass sculpture depicting Sigmund Freud. It was created in 1996 and has been exhibited in London, Berlin, Rotterdam, Chicago, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The renowned psychoanalyst was born in Frieburg, now part of the Czech Republic, and suffered from a number of phobias, including the fear of his own death (who doesn't?!). This depiction has Freud hanging by his had and debating whether or not to let go - a constant struggle between life and death.

It is just a sculpture, but is often mistaken as a suicide attempt and has resulted in more than one call to the fire and police services!

Most people are too busy to even notice it's there!