''Babies'' () is a series of sculptures by Czech artist

David Černý David Černý (born 15 December 1967) is a Czech artist. His works can be seen in different locations around Prague as well as in his own, Prague-based museum, called Musoleum. Early life Černý was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. From 1988 t ...

History and description

The piece consists of several sculptures depicting babies, which are 350 cm long and 260 cm high. Their faces are replaced with

bar code A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...

stamps. The first baby was presented in 1994 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Later it was exhibited in many places around the world.

Installations

;Žižkov Television Tower In 2000, a ten-piece series made of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

was installed on the exterior of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Žižkov Television Tower The Žižkov Television Tower () is a transmitter tower built in Prague between 1985 and 1992. Designed by the architect Václav Aulický and the structural engineer Jiří Kozák, it stands high above the city's traditional skyline from its po ...

as a temporary installation for the

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

year. Each piece weighs about 190 kg. Due to the public's appreciation of the sculptures, in 2001, they were installed on the tower permanently. The sculptures were removed in 2017 with the intention of repair. Due to safety reasons, new 250 kg copies, that are more durable and better attachable to the tower, were made to replace the original series, which was returned to Černý. The new copies were installed on the tower in April 2019. ;Kampa Island In 2008 an eight-piece

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

series was installed on

Kampa Island Kampa (also ''Na Kampě'') is an island in the Vltava river in central Prague on the side of Malá Strana. Charles Bridge crosses its northern tip and is connected to the island by the street ulice Na Kampě. It is separated from Malá Strana by ...

. ;Palm Springs, California In 2018 the ten-piece original series that was removed from the tower was loaned to

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

for 2 years. ;Casino Blankenberge Černý's babies were also installed on the wall of the Gevel Casino in

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; ; ) is a seaside Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitke ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, in 2006.

References

External links

{{Public art in Prague Bronze sculptures in the Czech Republic Outdoor sculptures in Prague Sculptures of children Statues in Prague Works by Czech people Outdoor sculptures in Palm Springs, California Statues in California