Today was a fantastic sightseeing day! There was heavy rain in Prague last night, and the forecast is calling for thunderstorms, but it was gorgeous – cool, clear, and perfect for exploring. At the end of the day the skies blackened and a downpour began minutes after I returned to my apartment!
Walking cobblestone streets all day is tough on the feet, but it was worth it. I discovered many new places – Paris Street, Strahov Stadium, Convent of St. George, Prague’s Eiffel Tower, and art nouveau Čechův Bridge.
My favorite discovery was Museum Kappa near Charles Bridge. Current exhibitions at the museum include Judith on Kampa (art nouveau) June 28 – September 22 and Gerald Scarfe Pink Floyd in Prague July 24 – October 13. Gerald Scarfe is a famous British icon of social and political caricature. In the 970s, he and Pink Floyd collaborated on several interesting projects.
Kampa Park and Museum are on the left bank of the Vltava River near Charles Bridge. Severe flooding earlier this year caused damage to the museum.
Currently, three huge crawling baby sculptures guard the entrance to Museum Kampa. The sculptures are the work of controversial Czech sculptor David Cerny.
The “crawling, Lynchian creatures, with imploded slot-machine faces, are part of Cerny’s Babies project – a commission to make the notoriously ugly Zizkov TV Tower more attractive. If you look beyond the museum into the distance you can see swarms of these weird mutant babies scaling the futuristic eyesore, with atmospheric red and blue neon lighting at night.” Cerny’s sculpting is visible throughout Prague.
Kampa Park has an outside gallery of large, impressive photos documenting the 2013 flood and showing how the residents of Prague worked together to recover and save their city.
“Museum Kampa is in the unique historical building Sova’s mills which was reconstructed with modern glass elements changing its character and bringing it into the 21st century.”
The museum has several important collections, including Central European modern art and the works of two 20th Century Czech artists – painter František Kupka and sculptor Otto Gutfreund. I didn’t know either artist but find their work amazing. The Central European art collection is a “reminder of the so-called Eastern Bloc and contributes to the awareness of modern Czech culture”.
Museum Kampa was established through the efforts of art collector and benefactor Meda Mládek. Visiting Museum Kampa is a worthwhile experience. It’s fascinating! More to follow, including info on haunted, underground Prague….
