Ionic Column

What the sculpture looks like

Ionic Column is a tall concrete sculpture resembling a column assembled from car tyres. They are not real tyres, however, but concrete casts of them – sculptural reproductions. The sculpture takes the form of a tall column placed on the square. It looks massive and heavy, and it is symmetrical. From a distance it recalls a column made of repeating circular segments. The main part of the column is about 50 centimetres in diameter, while the upper part is some 1.5 metres wide. In height it reaches roughly the level of the second floor of the surrounding houses on Lannova třída.

The whole sculpture is executed in shades of grey. The lower parts are lighter, ash grey, in places almost white. The upper part is darker, graphite grey and more strongly shadowed. The concrete surface is matt, in places soiled, with visible changes of colour and dark running streaks. The material does not try to imitate smooth stone; it keeps the rough structure, small scuffs and irregularities typical of concrete.

At the very bottom is a wide circular element resembling a large tyre lying on the ground. It serves as a plinth. It has a strongly rounded edge and a pronounced tread. Geometric motifs appear on its surface – zigzag lines, grooves and repeating rectangular studs. This lower ring is wider than any of those above it and therefore visually stabilises the whole composition.

Above the plinth, further concrete rings resembling tyres are stacked one on another. They are placed one above the other like horizontal circles. They differ in width, diameter and pattern. Some have fine regular grooves, others are coarser, with pronounced studs and deeper channels. Because of this the body of the column does not read as uniform but is composed of many layers, each with its own rhythm and structure.

The composition is easiest to read in the lower and middle parts. Here the concrete "tyres" form a regularly layered column. Their sides are rounded and the gaps between them create dark horizontal joints that clearly divide the sculpture into individual segments. In some places the concrete looks dusty or slightly worn. Darker dirt settles into the tyre tread, emphasising the relief of the surface.

Towards the top the column darkens and looks visually heavier. Rings with a deep pattern repeat in the upper part. One of them forms a pronounced band of regular studs around the column. Above it sit still darker rings. Their details are harder to read, yet they still recall tyres.

In the upper part, rings with patterns of varying strength alternate. Two of them have a pattern of pronounced spherical studs and form a conspicuous band. Above it follow further, darker rings whose surface is harder to read. Even so, it is clear that they too derive from the shape and structure of car tyres.

The top of the sculpture refers to the capital of an Ionic column. Two circular forms project symmetrically from either side of the upper part. They recall the coiled volutes that are the typical mark of the Ionic order. They are assembled from seven circular segments resembling tyres – six smaller ones and one larger in the middle. The forms project sideways, visually widening the top of the sculpture and creating the characteristic shape of an Ionic capital. Their centres remain empty, so the surrounding city buildings can be seen through them.

What makes this sculpture interesting is the joining of two different worlds. On the one hand it refers to classical architecture – it has a base, a shaft and a capital, and its title points directly to the Ionic column. On the other hand, all these parts are made of objects resembling car tyres, that is, ordinary utility items associated with traffic and the contemporary urban environment. The concrete further emphasises the mass and monumentality of the whole composition. This is not a light-hearted play with shapes, but a massive grey object that translates the motif of a tyre into the language of monumental sculpture and architecture.

How to find the sculpture

Lannova třída, České Budějovice. This tall concrete sculpture in the form of a column stands on the pedestrian avenue; its lower part serves as a plinth. You can walk around it on a paved surface.