My last three weeks in Prague are a blur. I ran around trying to finish exams, spend time with friends, see the last museums on my list, and pick up Christmas presents for my family.
I loved the Museum of Decorative Arts. The first gallery I saw had part 2 of the Decadence Now exhibit displayed. It still isn't my style, but I have to say that the Erwin Olaf "Fashion Victims" photography series caught my attention. I like the concept. My own contribution? Consider it a piece of performance art: at the suggestion of a friend, I visited the restroom on the same floor for the sole purpose of looking out the window and into the Jewish cemetery from that unusual angle. One of the reasons I decided to go to the museum in the first place.
The serious collection was farther upstairs. There were metal candlesticks shaped like sea-horses (not seahorses), a 4-season themed beaded centerpiece for a table, squares of delicate lace, wedding dresses from different periods in Czech history, sundial rings, pocket sundials with string instead of needles to create the shadow, and even a sundial shaped like a cup. There were all kinds of clocks, beautiful pieces of jewelery, photographs, vases, and old books that I longed to leaf through. This was certainly my kind of museum. Of course, I left really wanting to take a glass-blowing class.
My literature class took a field trip to the sculpture studio of artist Cestmir Suska. The journey into the suburbs to visit him was very snowy and cold, but the trip was well worth-while. Suska told us about his background, his different works, and his artist's cooperative--Bubec--which hosts "art safaris" in the ex-airplane-hanger that is now their shared studio space. He was very thoughtful and earnest, the kind of person I could easily listen to for hours. Because so many of his pieces were out for us to walk through, the changes in his style as he experimented with different media and concepts were easy to see. It felt like walking a timeline of his work, with him there to footnote and highlight as he saw fit. Personally, I fell in love with the rusty flower pieces. Maybe it's because they have flowers or patterns or math. Maybe it's because I want to learn about welding as much as I want to learn about glass-blowing.
All things in time, I suppose.
Another event that necessitated a snowy journey was the end-of-semester concert that the music students put together. I love when any of the art students showcase their works at the end of the semester, and since I had friends in this concert it was especially fun to hear their works. Unfortunately, the concert was very long and by the time we got out the snow had rendered the trams completely useless. This was the first and last time I took a taxi in Prague...but there was no other way to get home!
I went to an exhibit called PLAY at Manes Gallery on the river. It was supposed to be a school event, but it ended up being just me and Eva, one of the RAs. It was fun though. All of the pieces in the exhibit were interactive. We built with blocks, made noises with toilet plungers, played music with lights and shadows, and spun kalidescopes that looked out on the river. On the lower level there was a work about the 12 senses that Rudolf Steiner designed the Waldorf Education program around. I still have to translate the pamphlet from Czech into English, but a woman at the gallery explained each of the senses and the corresponding activities for me as I walked through. Overall I really enjoyed the exhibit and found it to be a welcome break from paper-writing.
That same day, I went in the evening to an event hosted by Firefly. The event was run by the woman who built the company and she explained how branding works, how she ended up in Prague, and what the process of a creative design team can involve. She had a few really cool exhibits where she took styles, materials, or objects from one of the countries that she has worked in and challenged artists from another of the countries to design a series of works with that theme in mind. For example, the windows were lined with glassworks by a Czech artist who designed a sake set for her. Very cool way to think.
In the rush to visit the last museums on my list before the end of this adventure, I found myself in Dox modern art gallery. I'd walked by the building numerous times during the semester because it's on the same block as one of the NYU dorms. However, it took looking up and catching sight of the giant skull currently on the roof to lure me inside. Overall, not my kind of gallery. There was a piece about the perils of the state education system that I found amusing because it seemed to be a visual representation of all the research I had been reading for one of my final papers. Two other exhibits that I found interesting were an outdoor-ish graffiti installation and an exploration of soviet-era depictions of space-travel/a sci-fi future.
Of course, I then went almost immediately after to the Mucha museum where Sam and I looked at pretty art nouveau posters, I searched for the flower design that I want a tatoo of (don't worry, I didn't find one), and I learned that Mucha did a series of HUGE oil paintings (not in his namesake style) called the Slav Epic. Totally different art, but very very cool.
So much going on! For the start of the holidays, my friends got together and made vegan Jewish food. Yay for applesauce and latkes! We also learned about St. Mikulas day. What my family has always celebrated as the feast of Saint Nicholas (for which one leaves shoes outside the bedroom door so that the saint can fill them with chocolate coins--geld--by morning) is a pretty big deal in the Czech Republic. People everywhere dress up as Saint Mikulas, an angel, or a devil. The trio walks around together, especially in Old Town Square at night. Children who want presents on Christmas have to approach Saint Mikulas and either sing a song or recite a poem. He then asks their parents whether the children have been good. If the parents say 'yes', the angel gives the child fruit or chocolate. These children get gifts on Christmas. If the parents say 'no', the devil wipes ash on the child's cheeks, rattles a chain perhaps and gives the child coal or potatoes. This is where things get a little strange: the Czechs say that on Christmas the devil will come with his sack, put the bad children in it and bring them back to hell with him. Yikes!
Of course, those who are of age can also celebrate the holiday with special "devil's beer" offered around the city. I think it's sweetened with wine; it's a bright red color and very good.
Personally, I spent Saint Mikulas day on a field trip. One of our wonderful RAs took a group on a trip to the suburb that he and his family are from. We walked through the panelak rows, through an Ikea, through a pet store that sold monkeys, and through a snowy park. Then we went back to Prague and talked in a teahouse for a while.
On December 8th, less than 10 days before our intended departure, my architecture class took a different kind of field trip. We visited the studio of CMC Architects. These are the people who revitalized the holesovice industrial district, which is where DOX and a few other very artsy buildings are now located. The architect who spoke to us showed us a slideshow of planned projects--none of which had been realized yet. Apparently, many of the company's urban designs got veto'd because the city insists there is "no space for experiments in Prague." Only two of the designs we saw had been actually built, and these were private projects commissioned for wealthy clients outside the historic part of the city. I hadn't realized that so much of the field of architecture is designing projects for proposals and competitions, knowing that most of the projects won't ever be built. This is a trend I've noticed in this class through the semester, and it makes me glad I decided not to become an architect afterall.
The next day, my IR professor gave us a list of films that he personally suggests for those craving a taste of Central European culture. Here's his list:
Skylarks on Strings by Menzel
Ucho by Kachyna
Katyn
Man of Marble
Man of Steel
It's better to be rich and healthy than poor and ill
Good Bye Lenin
Lives of Others
Kolya
Pouta
Since I'm on a link-posting spree, I might as well include this one. It's for the successful dessert that I brought to our last dorm potluck: Lamingtons
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