Tourists who come to Prague usually have a sightseeing bucket list that starts with
Do you want to know what my top three were instead?
- Dancing House (will be published soon)
- John Lennon Wall (ditto)
- The Franz Kafka Head, which is what I want to tell you about today.
The Franz Kafka Head is a monumental moving sculpture by Czech artist David Černý. It depicts the Prague-born writer Franz Kafka and is installed in front of the Quadrio Shopping Center in downtown Prague. The installation opened in 2014, the same year as the building itself.
Officially titled Franz Kafka Head (also referred to as Metamorphosis, in reference to Kafka’s famous short story), it is a kinetic sculpture consisting of 42 mirrored stainless steel panels that rotate independently around a central axis.
The sculpture, including its base, is 10.6 meters (35 feet) tall. The panels vary in weight from about 190 kg to 520 kg (420 - 1,146 pounds), and together they constantly reassemble Kafka’s face in shifting, fragmented motion. At full effect, the mechanism reaches up to 6 revolutions per minute. Mirrored surfaces at the base enhance the illusion that the structure is almost weightless.
A 15-minute choreography begins every hour on the hour.
Full disclosure: I have not read The Metamorphosis, nor any of Franz Kafka’s work. Shame on me.
But something tells me Prague has a way of nudging you toward the stories you’ve avoided. So yes, we’ll change that. Tomorrow.
For now, I’ll leave you with a video I put together. Enjoy!
Would you rather visit Franz Kafka's Head or stand in line to check off the traditional sights?
Hey Tamara! That's a stunning piece of art! Metamorphosis is a brilliant - though very unsettling - book! (I also got totally sidetracked by your YouTube channel! 😅 Left you a couple of comments there too.)
ReplyDeleteIt's Alice from the UBC. I have read the story Metamorphosis and often wondered what I'd be like as a bug. I have mad love for insects so that wsn't a very disturbing thought. Also, I really like your video. The pictures are stunning, and the music you chose is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a cool piece of art. I haven’t read the book either, but it doesn’t matter. I wish we had seen that while we were there. The fact that it rotates is awesome! Something to put on my list for when we get back there one day
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful video Tamara! It felt like I was walking along side you on the tour. I have never seen a moving head, that's amazing! I kind of think I would like to see that but would rather see the other sites.
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