Tag Archives: Czechia

Jul23

Crawling Babies and a Memorial to the victims of Communism

Posted on by
Standard

Wednesday, 26-June-2024


Continuing on the theme of art – After the art museum, and walking through the park, I headed South along the Western bank of the river toward an interesting sculpture installation that I’d earmarked for myself some months before. I can’t quite recall where I saw it, or why, but… you know what? Past me thought it would be interesting to check out, so present me is gonna roll with it.

And roll with it I did – It was a lovely walk down the slopes of the garden to my destination – Wandering through the trees and along the river was nice and cool, with some pretty good people watching thanks to a concert venue nearby that was just starting sound checks.

Soon enough, though, I found David Černý’s installation – A set of three rather large, and quite faceless, babies crawling around.


They were neat – worth noting down in the blog, and rather photogenic, but frankly there isn’t too much to tell about them. They’re centrally located, in a pretty area by the river, but nothing about it really stands out… they’re just a neat sculpture that I’m glad I took a few minutes to check out.


From the babies, I continued my adventures and explorations, finding another (far more haunting) installation. This one was a memorial, instead of an artistic installation, specifically to those who’s lives were ruined by the Communist State. I came across it unexpectedly, so it took me a moment to really recognize what I was looking at… but once I did, I really appreciated the sculptor’s work.




Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Victims_of_Communism

Jul23

National Gallery Prague – Národní galerie Praha

Posted on by
Standard

Wednesday, 26-June-2024


It started, as many excellent things do, with a snack.

I’d hiked / walked my way to the art museum from my apartment, through various squares, parks, and shops and other interesting spots, to finally arrive at the Museum of Art in Prague. I was a bit warm, a bit hungry, and could do with a cup of coffee… so I splashed some water on my face, got a slice of banana bread, a cup of coffee, and a table to sit at. I relaxed, cooled down, and got myself ready to soak in a lovely spot of art.


There was a lot of art to take in.

I mean… a lot, a lot. Instead of being organized purely by date, or artist, the paintings were organized into a few archetypes: “Man”, “World”, “Ideas”. There were also two other galleries – one for post World War art, and one for sculptures. It was an interesting curation choice, and definitely one that I enjoyed. Though, unsurprisingly, “World” was pretty cleanly my favorite… so you’ll see most of my photos coming from that gallery.

I walked, I explored, and I appreciated. I took breaks, I continued, and I absolutely enjoyed.

Jul22

Letenska Park in Prague

Posted on by
Standard

Wednesday, 26-June-2024


On Wednesday, I headed up to the North of my apartment, aiming for the art museum that lay perched up on the hill above town. To get to it, though, I’d have to cross a river and scale the hill… And, most excitingly, take a walk through Letenska Park! I mean, okay. Full honesty – I hadn’t heard of the park before, and I’m not aware of anything that really makes it stand out in the grand scheme of things. But it’s a park, and I enjoy getting to walk underneath trees and around flowers, so… You know what? I’ll get excited about parks regardless of how widely known they happen to be.

After the Museum, I actually came back through the park to finish my exploration – I’d had a good time wandering through originally, and since my route home would take me around it anyways… It was a really nice diversion from the cityscape and the depths of the salt mines that I’d been growing accustomed to. Nice breezes, swaying trees, and countless citizens of Prague enjoying the summer warmth. There were swimming areas, tennis courts, playgrounds…

Something I’ve really enjoyed about Europe, if my readers will accommodate my diversion from the park itself, is that people seem to go out more often. I don’t mean to bars or restaurants, though that may well be the case. I mean to parks, to beaches, to meeting spots. This may just be my experience in Oregon, but I hadn’t found that people really “got together” that much anymore… yet here I see people sitting in the parks, watching the World Cup, or just playing lawn games together. It’s neat, and I’m excited to see how similarly Dubliners act.

Back to the park – it was beautiful, had a cool (yet creepy) playground with strangely-threatening quadrupeds, lots of flowers and open spaces, and some simply lovely views. 10/10, would stroll around again.