The circular path has an outer diameter of around 40 meters. In the middle of the path, 26 sandstone monoliths, 200 cm long and 50 cm high and wide, are arranged in a circle. Each stone bears a part of the endless sentence carved into it: "A observes B, "B observes C"... to "Z observes A".
The passer-by should feel invited to take a walk along the path and sit down on one of the stone blocks, which are the exact height of a seat. From their seat, they can look around, perhaps at the building and the trees and lawns, and also observe the people passing by.
The artist has drawn attention to the fact that his work responds to the work of Bielefeld sociologist Niklas Luhmann. This is also indicated by an upright block of stone, which is placed next to the circle of stones and bears the inscription "Gesellschaftsspiel".
Ludger Gerdes' work can be used to illustrate some of Niklas Luhmann's basic ideas with which he attempts to describe society. Niklas Luhmann assumes that the overall system of society cannot be perceived and judged by any single person. In a democratic society, there cannot and should not be a command center that determines everything and places itself at the center. All people are more or less participants in a circular "social game". It therefore makes sense that the center of Ludger Gerdes' work is empty. It should also be deliberately empty in society in order to give everyone their own rights. Only then is open, free communication within society possible. Communication presupposes that people observe each other, i.e. perceive each other. In this context, "observing" does not mean observing or spying, but is rather used as a sociological term, as a value-neutral designation for observing and recognizing actions and behaviours. In a democratic society, everyone pays attention to what each other is doing.
Ludger Gerdes' work straddles the boundary between sculpture and architecture, image and language. It not only visualizes a figure of thought, but also invites you to take a seat and think about what the sculpture expresses. You automatically do what is written on the stones.
Source: Ministry for Building and Housing of the State of NRW, 1994