This curious sculpture is the work of controversial Czech artist David Černý (1967- ) - known for a bold stunt he pulled at the EU Council in Brussels in 2009, with his sculpture Entropa, which depicted sometimes vulgar stereotypes of the 27 EU member states. Another controversy unfolded in Bielsko-Biała in 2006, when a sculpture depicting a bound Saddam Hussein in a shark tank was removed from exhibition at the BWA by the mayor. In endeavouring to become only the third city with a public work by this well-known provocateur, the city of Poznań asked the artist to refrain from controversy in creating a piece of art that would honour the city's Jewish heritage around the idea of the Golem.
The Golem of Poznań; sculpture by David Černý.
A golem is an anthropomorphic creature from Jewish folklore, usually created from clay or mud, and brought to life by mystical means. Most famous is the myth of the Golem of Prague, which, according to the well-known legend, was created by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel in the late-16th century to protect the city's Jewish Quarter. As it happens, Rabbi Loew - who is buried in Prague's Old Jewish Cemetery - was not only born in Poznań in 1524, but also returned to the city to serve as the Chief Rabbi of Poland late in his career.
Rabbi Loew giving life to the Golem in a 1899 print by Mikoláš Aleš.
Černý's Golem sculpture was unveiled in 2010 and stands 2.5 metres high. Made of strips of reflective steel, with a gap between each, the sculpture gives the appearance of multiple figures blurred together, or, alternatively, one figure in motion. At any rate, it's connection to its subject matter is rather abstract. Find it on the pedestrian median of Al. Marcinkowskiego near the University of Arts.
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