strange statue

Discussion in 'Culture' started by czechchris, Mar 17, 2005.

  1. czechchris

    czechchris Well-Known Member

    I saw an unusual statue in the Lucerna mall, outside the cinema entrance, last week. A rider on an upside-down horse.
    Can someone explain it for me? There must be some reason for the horse being upside-down?
    [​IMG]
     
  2. Harry

    Harry Active Member

    This is a sculpture by David Cerny and 'parodies' the main statue in Wenceslas square. I don't know too much about Cerny but he's done much challenging and controversial work; the Pink tank, babies crawling up the TV tower etc.

    Harry
     
  3. Harry

    Harry Active Member

    Further to this, you might like to visit:

    http://www.davidcerny.cz/startEN.html

    There's a graphic on the left which ressembles pieces for a toy kit; click the top one which links to Artwork. There you'll see Horse, click that and you'll get a brief history of the project, but, as seems to be his style, little explanation.

    As for what it means, well it's a matter of interpretation. You think the horse is upside down? Yes, but the whole statue is now suspended instead of on the ground. Inversion. Personally I think it's quite humourous but it was too far out for the original site owner.

    Harry
     
  4. czechchris

    czechchris Well-Known Member

    Thanks very much Harry for the information and the links.

    I really like the babies on Žižkov tv tower, but this one had me stumped.

    The hall of the post office is so beautiful as it is - when I first went to Prague I was astounded by it, and took a photo, which elicited strange looks from the customers!

    I'm sorry, but some Czech art leaves me cold, but then Tracy Emmin, Danien Hirst etc do so too.
     
  5. Harry

    Harry Active Member

    Chris,
    Your photo of the horse is much better than the one I took; I was up on the balcony at the Kino cafe and the light didn't work so well. I didn't find out what the sculpture was, or by whom until I got home and did some searching. The first thing that interested me was that it defies your senses; it looks like an old cast bronze but that would be much too heavy for suspension (it's fibreglass of course). And then there's the inversion of horse and rider, and the traditional notion of celebratory statues. What it said about the state of the Czech Republic when it was first installed (1999?) I'll leave to far more knowledgeable commentators :wink:

    Public art is a highly contentious area; what about all the fuss surrounding the vacant plinth in Trafalgar Square?

    Harry
     

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