Ludger Gerdes | Klaus-Bahlsen-Fountain

The Rut and Klaus Bahlsen Foundation funded the construction of a new fountain on Human Rights Square by Ludger Gerdes (b. 1954 in Lastrup – d. 2008). Gerdes had been advocating for art as a means of shaping public spaces since the early 1980s and conducted research on the design of public squares in the 1990s. The aim of using art to foster communication is reflected in the fountain: Like an abstract playing field, it invites visitors to devise rules and structures to contextualize the built elements. The word “sondern” is embedded in one of the blocks, serving as an objection but also as a potential call to action: sort, move, design! Not far from the fountain stands a cast of the sculpture “Archer” by Ernst Moritz Geyger, which was originally located at the Engesohde Cemetery starting in 1918 and was moved here in 1967. » Location: Human Rights Square