On Tuesday 9th March, at 11am in Franz Kafka Square in Prague, we will finally see what artist Jiří David’s six metre sculpture made from 85,000 keys actually looks like.
This “open-air vernissage” will take place in the presence of the artist, who wants this sculpture in a public place to contribute to discussion about the twenty years since the Velvet Revolution. “The sculpture represents a personal polemic on development within the Czech Republic. Of course, it’s neither a celebratory monument nor simply a critical piece. The sculpture expresses the ambivalence I feel when I look at present-day society and politics,” said Jiří David.
The public chose the site for the sculpture
While David was making the sculpture people were invited to make suggestions, on the project website, of a site for the giant sculpture. This “voting” was very popular and attracted a total of 8,673 suggestions for places all over the country and even abroad. Although Prague was the statistical winner, the inhabitants of several other cities and regions also expressed interest, so there is now a possibility of a “mini-tour” by the sculpture around cities in Bohemia and Moravia. The precise end of the statue’s stay in Franz Kafka Square therefore depends on this “mini-tour”. However, it is certain that the sculpture will stand in Prague for several months before it begins its travels. Full information and current details are available at
www.klicovasocha.cz
Keys “given” by phone company
The creation of the key sculpture was supported by the Vodafone company, which organised a public collection of keys on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of 17th November 1989. During October and November people brought a total of 85,741 keys to Vodafone branches throughout the Czech Republic, creating the biggest collection of keys in the world.
A few words about David
Jiří David has played a significant role in creating the form and atmosphere of Czech art since the late 1980s. With their free use of signs and political symbols, his paintings distinctly shaped the post-modern program at the turn of the 1980s and 90s when he also began working with installations and written texts reflecting the position of the artist and art in society. In the 1980s he was a co-founder of the Tvrdohlaví (Hard-headed) group. Apart from the aforementioned installations in public places he has also received great acclaim outside the Czech Republic, for example for his photographic exhibitions Skryté podoby (Hidden Image) or Bez soucitu (No Compassion). In a survey of art experts conducted last year Jiří David was declared the most influential artist of the last 20 years.
Source: www.praha.eu
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