Artist Blog

Every week an artist whose single image was published by Der Greif is given a platform in which to blog about contemporary photography.

Currently I find myself in Prague, where I’ve given myself an uneasy task of portraying the city’s genius loci without falling into the trap of cheap thrills and postcard aesthetics. Working on a project that has to do a lot with something that I perceive to be distinctly Czech, it is interesting to note that most of the people who I associate with the emblematic image of the Czech capital are of German (or Germanic) origin. Starting with Rudolf II, who elevated Prague to the capital of his empire and defined the image of Prague as a city closely associated with alchemists, astrologers, astronomers, as well as eccentric artists, this city’s dark heartbeat has been heard loudest through the voices of its ethnic minorities. Today many people associate the city with Franz Kafka, however only few of the tourists have probably read anything written by this prolific writer who’s legacy goes on in works by literary masters such as Borges, Burroughs, and Orwell. For me, Prague is the city of Gustav Meyrink’s mystical tales where he talks about the city’s secret heartbeat that “washes away all the names, creating myth after myth”. Meyrink’s Prague is the city created by seven travelling monks from the Orient, the city that lies on the threshold (Praha is derived from ‘prah’, which means threshold) of different worlds or realities, and especially it is the city forever haunted by the specter of Golem, the artificial man thought to be created by Rabi Löw in the 16th century. For Meyrink, Prague is inhabited by peculiar characters such as the old watchmaker, white Cacadu, or even the author himself who claims to be transmuting base metals into gold with the help of nothing else than old shit found under the cobbled streets of the ancient metropolis, serving him as the philosophers stone. Recently, it has been a great discovery for me that the original death mask of Gustav Meyrink is in existence, and I will be lucky enough to photograph soon. The question however remains, how to photograph a city whose image is more than anything else felt. Yes, there are beautiful places and views but what makes Prague the dark heart of Europe is that secret heartbeat that makes the city pulse with strange energy that can be felt especially during the quiet nights when all the Segway tours finally disappear and the only inhabitants seem to be the many statues found on its ancient bridges, monumental portals, and even in the quietest of the city’s corners near the old monasteries, we can feel that we’re never quiet alone. It is a great shame that parts of the city that would now seem as some of the most interesting ones, such was Josef, the old Jewish ghetto, have been demolished, and the ones that still remain are filled with tasteless souvenir shops and fast food kiosks. It makes me think of a quote by another German writer who was born and wrote in Prague, Johannes Urzidil: “(It is the time) that creates value. At least as much value as it destroys. Remember this.” I am not sure how much value we create these days, let’s hope that this equilibrium hasn’t been disrupted with our contemporary love for fast, cheap gratification. – Tereza Zelenkova