Arrache-moi la tête

Life is the sum of what you obsess on. You can travel as much as you want, you will only see what you are allowing your mind to wonder about.

If you are obsessed about something, the world will provide your obsession with a constant stream of things to absorb. Common sense make obsessions sound like something unhealthy. Here’s a counterpoint: obsessions can help you find interesting details everywhere.

Spending a couple of days in Prague proved to be a massive source of inspiration. Not only Prague revealed many stories feeding obsessions of mine, but these obsessions turned out to be good ways to discover Prague.

A selection:

• The Saint Wenceslas chapel, inside the Cathedral of Saint Vitus, is remarkably simple externally and extravagantly decorated internally.
• The Museum of Kafka displays long excerpt of a letter Franz Kafka wrote to his father, whose shadow seem to have been a major burden throughout his own life.
• In St. George’s Basilica, a crucified Christ has been carved out of a single piece of wood, elegantly using that constraint to renew the genre.
• In a similar manner, Kafka turned his frustrations as insurance worker into inspiration for his writing.
• Alphonse Mucha was drawing posters for Sarah Bernhardt’s theater plays. Sometimes, Mucha would imagine details for the poster, looking so good that they would then trigger Bernhardt’s desire to have them become real accessories for her on stage, like the snake-bracelet for Medea.