Foreword On November 4, 1989, as hundreds of thousands demanded their democratic rights to freedom of opinion, press and assembly, they not only publically recovered their speech, they also gave urban space ist public character back, as a place for emancipating citizens to meet, discuss and represent themselves. The 4th of Novmber is symbolic of the heroic illusion of the societal upheaval in the GDR. Ten years later, the chance remains to proudly remember this historical action, to say farewell to self-deceit with unreserved openness and, at the same time, to recall hopes left unfulfilled. It is the political freedom gained that actually allows for the precise questioning of democracy's democratization. The 4th of November evades historical interpretations that are linear and/or dominated by political parties, and therefore can be a potential for continual, self-critical questioning of today's German society. The Mitte District Office, as a communal body and as the »owner« of Alexanderplatz, feels a special responsibility to remind us of this unique historical event at the place of its happening. In contrast to the March Democratic Revolution of 1848's commemorative plaque, placed in the ground at the site of a barricade on Alexanderplatz, the 4th of November, 1989 will be called to mind by an active memory mark, by an illuminated billboard with changing artwork. If Alexanderplatz was a political space on the 4th of November, 1989, the city's public memory has all the more to hold its own today against the omnipotence of commerce. Therefore »Art not Ads« is also an ironic commentary on the loss of public space and on advertising's dominance over art. To formulate and get democratic rights accepted, to gain new forms of expression and to take back the city's public space - those are several steps in a process. History goes on. Dr. Thomas Flierl Council Chairman for Ecological City Planning, Building and Housing in Berlin's Mitte District. Initiator of the project »Denkzeichen 4. November 1989« (translation: Rebeccah Blum) Download this text (Word6/Win9x) ©  Dr. Thomas Flierl Project  |  Artists  |  Home Denkzeichen 4. November 1989