In Arnsberg, the Spanish conceptual artist Santiago Sierra created a contemporary light installation as a reminder to people today: for an open city, an open Europe; against exclusion of any kind. In doing so, Santiago Sierra has simultaneously redefined the urban space and distinguished the original city—with its medieval Old Market—from the city striving toward modernity—with its neoclassical New Market.
The conceptual artist titled the work “The Debt.” The old city gates were built on the foundation of intangible debt. Hundreds of thousands of people were excluded through these city gates—especially the Jews.
“The Lichtpforte” stands in relation to—or in contrast to—these medieval city walls, which set boundaries for people and enabled exclusion. His “Lichtpforte” can be admired and “overcome” by anyone.
No form of exclusion is possible, as the artwork consists of ground lights, unobtrusively embedded in the pavement, that trace the outlines of the original city walls.
His light installation appears delicate, yet it is a stark warning from the past to modern people—a warning from history to the present.