I get it!

For the blogger who said – “heavy Eastern European art, impossible to get it, let’s have lunch” I thought I cannot leave my commentary about Czech art without talking about a contemporary artist, and one of my favourites at the moment, David Cerny.

It was delightful to pass one gallery and realise that there is a pack behind this leader. There was a whole group of Czechs showing art that was laughing and turning things upside down.

I saw a cat and dog that had been made into a rug similar to tiger rugs in showy, ostentatious houses. My friend and I laughed for ages. And then I asked why it was actually funny. My friend said it’s

“Because people show off about having a tiger because it’s dangerous and exotic. The pets look like a rubbish attempt at a copy. Who could show off that they’d caught a cat?”

This is true and the animals are so cute that you feel nervous about how to react. That also makes me get the giggles. But on top of this you could find it a quite shocking and you are not sure if it’s ethical.

These serious comments given in a humorous way are also characteristic of Cerny’s work. He is kind of interested in politics and especially in Europe at the moment. How they could let him make a huge public sculpture in Brussels is a mystery. If they had seen any of his work and got it – you could see it coming that it would shock but also make you laugh.

In the beautiful castle side of Prague there is a fountain. It sits in the centre of the old square surrounded by museums. The colours of the surrounding buildings go beautifully with the bronze of the fountain. And standing in the shape of the country itself are two figures, which, also as traditionally done, are weeing water in the fountain.

HOWEVER, these men move their hips and the fact that they are weeing into their country is a little inappropriate! If you send a text message to the fountain the figures will spell out your message, rather ineffectually in the water below them before going back to their own pattern.

Modern art or postmodernism can be very cynical. It subverts or stylizes old things to make a comment. This is not just a Czech thing. There is a certain sense of humour in different countries but there are less and less differences, in my opinion as I return to the Czech Republic. David Cerny is an internationally renowned artist so we all have to get him now!