Knights

What the sculpture looks like

The sculpture consists of two large rusted metal objects standing opposite each other. In shape they recall industrial tanks. At first glance they may look like the remains of industrial equipment, machines or silos. But look a little longer. Their tilt, the circular openings and the title of the work gradually begin to suggest two knights' helmets turned to face each other. The objects stand in a corner of the historic square and rise roughly to the level of the third floor of the surrounding town houses.

The two objects are very similar. They are made in the same way and read almost as a mirror image. About three metres of space separate them, as if two opponents were standing face to face just before a duel.

The surface of both objects is dark rusted metal. It is matt, marked by time and weather. Vertical traces of running water, changes of colour, corrosion and irregular patches are visible on it. The tones move from dark brown through reddish rust to almost black.

Each object stands on four short cylindrical legs ending in flat feet. They do not read as a plinth. They merely lift the massive body of the sculpture slightly above the ground, much like the supports of an industrial tank.

The base of each sculpture is a massive horizontal cylinder about two metres wide. It is rounded at both ends. The surface is not smooth. Regular welds and structural joints appear on it, recalling the way such technical objects used to be made.

At roughly two thirds of its height the cylinder bends sharply. It first leans forward and then immediately returns. This creates a sharp break resembling the raised visor of a helmet. Above it the upper part of the cylinder tilts slightly again, this time in the opposite direction. The whole silhouette thereby gains tension and movement. The tops of the cylinders are not horizontal but follow their tilt. A short vertical pipe projects from the middle of each.

It is precisely this break in the cylinder that turns an industrial tank into something far more familiar. Suddenly a simplified knight's helmet appears before us, with a pronounced visor protecting the face. Both "knights" lean towards each other. The left one points to the right, the right one to the left. Their projecting visors almost meet. One of the objects has its break set slightly higher than the other, so the whole does not read as perfectly symmetrical but as livelier and more dynamic.

The impression of knights' helmets is strengthened further by circular elements set in the upper part of the cylinders. They are exactly where we would expect eye slits.

On one object these openings hold three-bladed elements resembling fan blades. The other object has slightly convex circular covers in the same place, with a small hole in the middle.

Further circular openings appear on both sculptures at various heights, most of them in the lower parts. Some allow a glimpse into the dark interior of the cylinders. In one place, roughly at the eye level of an adult, an opening passes right through the object. Through this narrow view you can see the space on the other side of the rusted structure.

How to find the sculpture

Přemysl Otakar II Square, České Budějovice. Two large rusted metal objects face each other in a corner of the historic square, rising roughly to the level of the third floor of the surrounding houses. Each stands on four short cylindrical legs with flat feet, on the paving of the square.