GEREON LEPPER

RAUHE ZEITEN (‘ROUGH TIMES’), prototype

2004
Atelier Hattingen

The task set for the competition was to relate to historical circumstances or situations in the Ahaus area. According to a traditional legend, Count Heinrich von Solms-Ottenstein met his death in man-to-man combat on Barl Field near Ahaus in the year 1355. Today, the Solms’sches Kreuz or Solms Cross, which stands in the immediate vicinity of the Barl roundabout, commemorates that occurrence. Two silhouettes of riders based on a medieval model from the Manesse Manuscript, are connected by two support systems. The dominant figure of the victorious knight the present version is the sail of a movable, central construction that responds to the wind. The vanquished knight is attached on an upright tube just outside the radius of motion of the central construction. To induce as frequent a meeting between the two opponents as possible, the prevalent direction of the wind at the location of the piece is taken into account. On some days, the victorious knight will move away from his challenger, leaving an impression that he is patrolling his radius of motion on a quest for a new duel.