<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Translation</title> </head> <body> <p>Prague plans many monuments, but it doesn't always ask people if they want them.</p> </body> </html>

Publisher
ČTK
17.06.2014 19:45
Czech Republic

Prague

Prof. Vladimír Preclík and Prof. Ing. arch. Ivan Ruller: Memorial II. Resistance, Prague-Klárov
Prague - In Prague, memorials to many figures from Czech and international history are set to be created in the near future. Some have been planned for years, while others appear to be sudden ideas from politicians. Memorials in the Czech Republic often spark public debates; this is not the case only for the memorial to Czech RAF pilots, which is to be unveiled today at Klárov. The memorial was created without a competition as a gift from the British community in the Czech Republic.
Ten days ago, a bust of the Russian poet Pushkin was unveiled in Prague 6; the town hall also received it as a gift, but the opposition criticized the acceptance of the gift valued at over one million crowns from the Russian-Czech Mixed Chamber of Commerce. Last week, Russian businessman Ruslan Baьramov presented the planetarium in Stromovka with a bust of the first astronaut Yuri Gagarin - his sculptures are exported around the world. According to the management of the planetarium, the event, which was attended by ambassadors from both countries, cannot be perceived politically.
Although statues fill public spaces, people often cannot express their opinions on their intentions and only learn about them once they are erected. "Most memorials are created without interest in professional consultations with the Czech Chamber of Architects. Prague 6 has directly refused to collaborate with the CKA," said Petr Lešek, head of the CKA working group for competitions, to ČTK.
Some memorials, such as those to the victims of communism in Prague on Újezd or in Liberec, have emerged from competitions consulted by the chamber. However, Lešek points out that not all competitions have led to realization; often, politicians or members of associations opposed the decisions of the jury, as was the case with the rejected winning proposal by David Černý for the memorial to the second resistance in Prague at Klárov. The organizer decided on a different work due to Černý's publicly presented opinions, and the memorial at Klárov stands as designed by Vladimír Preclík.
"Sometimes the motivations behind erecting a memorial are strange - for example, Náchod announced a competition for a realistic statue of Josef Škvorecký: it must correspond to a photograph of the writer at age 60, and it must be on a bench, placed so that someone could sit next to it - this is said to promote tourism. It is a pity that we are still waiting for a quality contemporary work funded by the municipality that speaks to the present," said the architect. He highlights successful recent works in Prague - the memorial to the victims of the Nusle Bridge by Krištof Kintera and the memorial to cyclist Jan Bouchal by the same author.
Prague 6, however, is currently not sparing on sculptures. At the beginning of September, a memorial to physicist Nikola Tesla is to be unveiled in Dejvice - it has one of the few non-figurative forms and ideas. Its motif is a stylized electric discharge as the driving force and the cornerstone of Tesla's inventions and as a tool for his famous presentations. The authors are sculptor Stefan Milkov and architect Jiří Trojan.
Two more memorials are currently without realization. The memorial to Žofie Chotková is to be located at the Písecká Gate; the winning design in the competition resembles a fan stuck into the sidewalk. In the case of the memorial to Maria Theresa, which is to be built in the new park at the Prašný Bridge after the completion of the Blanka tunnel, the jury did not select a winner. Most proposals adhered to figurative forms. The connection of these figures to Prague 6 is not evident.
This year or next year, a new memorial to Jan Palach should be erected in Prague. The sculpture symbolizing the flames that brought death to the courageous student in 1969 stood in wooden form at the Castle in the 1990s. The steel sculpture by American architect of Czech origin John Hejduk should be on Alšovo nábřeží. The city will pay for the statue, to which Hejduk donated his project.
Another memorial, whose author is not afraid of abstraction, is to be unveiled in October in Letná and will commemorate poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Its author is one of the most prominent contemporary Czech sculptors, Stanislav Kolíbal, and the initiator and investor is a foundation bearing Rilke's name. The memorial consists of upright stone slabs with Rilke's portrait and his verses. In Vysočany, they plan to unveil a memorial to businessman Emil Kolben in September.
For over a year, the Association for the Construction of a Statue of Václav Havel has been raising funds for a sculpture by young sculptor Barbora Daušová. The association has no place for the statue and has gathered one-third of the money needed for a life-size bronze. Meanwhile, in Malá Strana, a Václav Havel Bench has been created, another seating area designed by Bořek Šípek, aimed at encouraging meeting and dialogue in the spirit of the former president's attitudes. Historians are skeptical about a classic Havel monument, saying that his best reminder is his work, which people should read to keep it alive.
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