David Černý and his vision of Kafka

If resemblance was the most important thing in a portrait, how then do we judge about the portraits of Rembrandt? Atanas Dalchev

Yesterday I received a nice gift, which is for you in fact.

There it is, as I received it:

Located in a busy shopping center in Prague, this twisting and reflective sculpture depicting the head of writer Franz Kafka is the latest kinetic artwork by controversial Czech artist David Černý . Installed in 2014, the enormous mirrored bust is comprised of 42 independently driven layers of stainless steel and weighs in at some 45 tons. The piece brilliantly reveals Kafka’s tortured personality and unrelenting self doubt that plagued him his entire life. 

The layering of objects is a common motif for Černý  who built a similar rotating head that also functions as a fountain titled Metalmorphosis. 

Artist David Černý named the giant kinetic sculpture "K on sun,". The sculpture is in Prague, right next to a building in which Kafka himself once worked as a clerk in an insurance company, and across from City Hall. ” It’s to remind you of Kafka, when you are totally frustrated by the incompetence of state employees,” Černý said. The 45-ton sculpture is constantly moving. It transforms over time, just like K in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”.