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Kristek House

Kristek House is a building on the corner of Tišnovská and Trávníky Streets in Brno, Czech Republic, transformed into a monumental assemblage by the Czech sculptor, painter and action artist Lubo Kristek between 2015 and 2017. Its main feature is a surrealist-inspired clock based on the Myth of Sisyphus, with clockwork specially designed by the Elekon company in Vyškov. The façade also includes a painted railway line linked to Kristek’s symbol of the heavenly highway and to the former Brno-Tišnov railway line from his childhood. At the corner of the house, two large golden hands rise with their palms turned upward, protecting a living tree. The house was also used as the set for the films Ab ovo and Sisyphiade.

Kristek House in Brno with a dark purple facade, pink window accents, and surreal sculptural elements including large hands and a melting clock.
Kristek House in Brno features a striking purple facade with surrealist details and protruding sculptural forms.
December 2017 © · CC0
Kristek House with a dark gray facade, purple vertical stripes, golden hands, and surreal mural details.
Kristek House in Brno features a surreal, brightly decorated facade with sculptural and painted elements.
October 2019 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kristek House with a dark purple facade, magenta accents, golden hands, a melting figure on a clock, and a mural of a winding train track.
Kristek House, a surreal assemblage covered with colorful sculptural details and painted motifs.
December 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Golden sculptural hands extend from the corner of Kristek House beside a pink-framed window.
Golden hands protrude from the corner of Kristek House, with a pink-framed window visible beside them.
December 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bronze plaque for Kristek House mounted on a light-colored pillar beside a green metal fence.
A bronze plaque identifying Kristek House is displayed on a pillar beside the gate.
March 2019 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleKristek House
Original nameKristkův dům
Typebuilding transformed into a monumental assemblage

Creator

ArtistLubo Kristek
Artist rolessculptor, painter, and action/performance artist

Historical context

Creation period2015–2017
Creation year2015
Creation locationTišnovská Street, Brno, Czech Republic
Context of creationKristek returned in 2015 to Tišnovská Street, where he lived in childhood, to create the work as part of his artistic cycle

Discovery and provenance

Historical backgroundKristek emigrated to West Germany in 1968 and later returned to Tišnovská Street after a lifelong artistic pilgrimage to create the sculptural cycle

Physical characteristics

LocationCorner of Tišnovská Street and Trávníky Street, Brno, Czech Republic
LocationBetween Tišnovská Street and Trávníky Street, Brno, Czech Republic
LocationTišnovská Street, Brno

Technique

Techniqueassemblage
Clockworkspecially designed and constructed by Elekon in Vyškov, a company specialized in tower clocks

Materials

Clockwork systemspecialist public clock system

Appearance

Main featurea surrealist-inspired clock based on the Myth of Sisyphus
Façade featurea painted railway line incorporated into the symbol of the celestial highway
Corner sculpturestwo large golden hands at the corner of the house, with palms turned upwards
Living elementa living tree

Iconography and meaning

Other symbolic conceptthe celestial road / sky highway as a lifelong symbol in Kristek's work
Thematic focusthe house, the domestic hearth, private life, nature, and humanity's relationship to nature
Associated literary themethe story of Sisyphus, especially the phase when he has no boulder and descends from the mountain summit to the valley
Sisyphus descentwhen descending, he meets the girl of his dreams, always at quarter past
Sisyphus ascentwhen rising, he tries to slow time for everyone
Sisyphus motifSisyphus hangs from the minute hand and moves according to the clock dial
Time conceptthe centuries-old flow of time combined with infinity, linked to Sisyphus's time machine
Related symbolthe celestial highway
Main symbolthe living tree
Hands functionthey protect the living tree, the main symbol of the assemblage
Hands motifhands protruding from the corner of the house, with fingers resembling roots reaching toward the sky
Train motifa train placed on the celestial highway, representing Kristek's childhood memories of the Tišnovka railway line
Railway referencethe former Brno-Tišnov railway line (Tišnovka), a train from Kristek's childhood
Symbol first appeared inthe 1974 painting The Heavenly Highway of Aunt Fränzi, now in the collection of Neues Stadtmuseum in Landsberg am Lech
InspirationAlbert Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus and the ideas of George Voskovec recorded on the LP Relativně Vzato

Location and ownership

Current locationBrno, Czech Republic

History and restoration

Clock functionshows the exact time and automatically switches between daylight saving time and standard time
FilmsAb ovo and Sisyphiade were filmed at the house

Significance

Importanceone of Lubo Kristek's most important works
Contextlisted among Lubo Kristek's public artworks
Related worksThaya – The Destiny of a Tree (1968), Protective Hand (1996), and Stabilizer of Insufficient Quantities of Hands (2012–2013)
Other works in contextTranscendental Composition Between Suffering and Hope (1977), Monument of the Five Senses (1991), The Tree of Knowledge (1982), and Drinking (1988)
Broader recognitionKristek is internationally known for happenings in Germany, the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Turkey, Belgium, Poland, and Slovakia, among others