Prague July 2007
This article was contributed by Ellen Delzenne - thanks Ellen!
Sculpture Grande is an art event that takes place in the city of Prague every year during the summer. This year the event has it’s fifth anniversary.
Bring Gallery to the People
The idea behind the open air festival, that features giant sculptures in various busy spots around the centre of Prague is: if you can’t bring the people into the gallery, bring the gallery to the people. Its main goal is to get people to notice and hopefully appreciate works of art.
Big Names
The festival is organised by the Prague Gallery Art Factory and the city of Prague and this year it focuses on big names. Stephan Balkenhol from Germany, Erwin Wurm and Brigitte Kowanz from Austria, Sylvie Fleury from Switzerland, Julian Opie from the United Kingdom, Jean-Jacques Ory from France and (the native) Jiří David from Prague.
Stephan Balkenhol created made “The Dancer”, a ballerina standing high above the sidewalk on tip-toe placed on a red ball.
Erwin Wurm’s “Fountain” is a concrete leg with water shooting out of one of its toes. Wurm is the best-known international artist of Sculpture Grande. He inspired video director Mark Romanek to mirror his abstract "One Minute Sculptures" for a video clip by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Over the past five years, Wurm has produced a series of photographs and happenings under this heading that have focused on everyday objects presented in absurd situations. Romanek had the band perform random scenes, which seem to fit no purpose, fitting with the ideas expressed in Wurm’s work.
Brigitte Kowanz has installed “Information” near the Old Town City Hall, a red pole that lights up at night.
Sylvie Fleury offers large mushrooms, made of fibreglass. They are painted in chromatic colours.
Julian Opie made a piece of art called “Imagine You are Driving a Blue Honda”. It is a nearly life-size blue car made of aluminium and painted metal.
Jean-Jacques Ory made “Venus and the Shoe”, near the Spanish Synagogue – a large high-heeled shoe with the Venus of Botticelli painted inside.
Jiří David is the only native artist with “Cane for the Blind,” on Wenceslas Square. It is dedicated to Guilly D. Herbemont (1888–1980), who invented a walking cane for blind people.
Generation Next
The festival also introduces an innovation: an international competition of young artists called “Generation Next”. Six young talents under the age of 35 are selected to present their works during the same period as Sculpture Grande. An international jury of experts and curators will select the most original work of art and there will be an award and prize money of Euro 5.000 on the 17th of September.
More info
> Read more about the festival on de Sculpture Grande Website
> A ten minute film of the Sculpture Grande 2007 edition in Prague