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This volume documents Kurt Schwitters and his profound influence on the generations of artists that followed him, including artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Joseph Beuys, Jessica Stockholder, and Laura Kikauta. ... Read more

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The German-born artist Kurt Schwitters is best known for his 'psychological collages' and his large-scale sculptures that prefigured the installation art of the late twentieth century. He also experimented with sound art, typography and architecture and wrote poetry and prose. Fleeing the Nazis in 1937, he left Germany for Norway where he was interned on the Lofoten Islands and, after escaping, by the British on the Isle of Man. He died in Kendal in the Lake District in 1948. This unique volume brings together three of Schwitters' short stories written during his time in England - "The Idiot", "The Landlady" and "The Story of the Flat and Round Painter" - with a poem, "London Symphony", all of which he sent to the writer, publisher and fellow exile Stefan Themerson. Alongside these works the book contains a personal appreciation of Schwitters by his friend, the Surrealist pioneer E.L.T. Mesens, commissioned for Art News in 1958 and unavailable since then, together with previously unpublished responses by the artist's son Ernst Schwitters and Mesens' further comments.Jasia Reichardt's introduction places these remarkable documents in the context of Schwitters's life and career and explores the importance of his legacy. This important publication of previously unknown material from one of the most innovative artists of the twentieth century will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in avant-garde art and literature. It comes with a tribute by E.L.T. Mesens and a response by Ernst Schwitters. ... Read more

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At the end of World War I, the German artist Kurt Schwitters dramatically broke with dominant artistic traditions by adopting collage as the primary medium for his literary and visual production. In The Collages of Kurt Schwitters: Tradition and Innovation, Dorothea Dietrich demonstrates how collages function for the artist. Characterising Schwitters's work as the product of the deep social and political crises of the Weimar Republic, Dietrich challenges the prevalent outlook that twentieth-century art can be reduced to a revolutionary struggle of avant-garde artists against an entrenched artistic tradition. The Collages of Kurt Schwitters argues for a more nuanced view, in which revolutionary art forms are exposed as containing much that is traditional and, indeed, reactionary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Thoughtful and informative
A informative discussion of Schwitters work that is both scholarly and accessible.If you want critical analysis and historical perspective, then this is the book for you (it is NOT a superficial, coffee table book with pictures). Thoughtful and thought provoking. I'd recommend this book to anyone in learning more about Schwitters.

Very disappointing
I wish I hadn'd bought this book. There is very little to see ... Read more

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The book gives a flavour of what the German artist/poet, Kurt Schwitters, achieved in his lifetime and what he meant to the people of the English Lake District and the wider world.

Born in Hanover in 1887, Schwitters fled Germany in 1937, going first to Norway, then to Britain, where he was interned for a year and a half as 'an enemy alien'. He was discharged from the Hutchinson Square Internment Camp on the Isle of Man in 1941 and lived for a time in London, where he forged links with a group of surrealist artists and poets many of whom were fellow fugitives from the Nazis. In London he was rebuffed by Kenneth Clarke, was refused work as a window dresser by Selfridges and met the teenage Jazz musician, George Melly. Together with his companion, Edith Thomas, he settled in Ambleside in the English Lake District in 1945 where he died in 948.

Famed for an innovative Dada 'Merzbau', created within his house in Hanover, Schwitters began a second Merzbau in Norway but was forced to abandon the work when he fled to Britain. Both works were subsequently destroyed.

In Ambleside he painted landscapes for tourists, portraits for 'locals' and collages for himself. He also began another Merzbau in a barn at Elterwater near Ambleside. But Schwitters died before the Merzbarn was finished; the work was removed to the Hatton Gallery at Newcastle University in the 1960's where it can be seen today.

Schwitters is known as 'the creator of Merz' (his own form of Dadaist art) and for his saying, 'I have so little time'. His Dadaist poem, 'an Anna Blume', won him international fame in the 1920's. He was a prolific writer.

This book seeks to express, in layman's terms and simple language, something of what Kurt Schwitters achieved in his lifetime. It is a 'Merz' book; it throws together words/articles/quotes/opinions and transforms them into a printed/written collage.

It is an essential handbook for the 'man in the street'. ... Read more

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In the 1930s, anyone traveling to Djupvasshytta in Norway might have run into the improbable figure of Kurt Schwitters, selling his landscapes and portraits to visiting tourists. Schwitters (1887-1948) had discovered the beauty of Norway on his first trip there in 1929, subsequently holidaying in the northwestern part of the country. In January 1937, the artist followed his son Ernst into exile, and constructed his second Merzbau, the Haus am Bakken (House on the Slope), near Oslo, where he remained until the Germans moved in to occupy the country in April 1940. Schwitters in Norway is the first book to examine the stylistically looser and more colorful collages and assemblages, with their pronounced use of natural materials such as stone, driftwood and feathers, as well as the abstract and landscape paintings, from this particularly productive period of the artist's life. With nearly 100 color plates, this volume greatly enriches our picture of one of last century's most influential artists. ... Read more

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The influence of Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) permeates the art, literature and music of the past century as profoundly as any of his contemporaries. Hero of Dada, Constructivist virtuoso, patron saint of collage, sound poetry and installation art, Schwitters made his greatest impact in the postwar era--while he himself was living in relative seclusion in the north of England--influencing American Pop art (especially Robert Rauschenberg's Combines), Fluxus and assemblage art throughout Europe and America; artists as different as Damien Hirst and Ed Ruscha cite him as an influence. This volume is the first serious broad survey of Schwitters' work in 25 years, and attests to his omnipresent influence today. It draws on recent research into the Merzbau interiors, and gathers all aspects of his output, from collage to typography and architecture, into one glorious testimonial to Schwitters' libidinously prolific oeuvre. With texts by British art historian Roger Cardinal and Schwitters scholar Gwendolen Webster, this volume presents a new Schwitters for our times. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Lucky Hans and Other Merz Fairy Tales
Quirky, abstract,nonsensical fun . I found myself laughing out loud at the odd ball humour of Dadaist, Kurt Schwitters. Each tale is short and sweet appealing to readers and listeners of all ages. An off centred approach to conventional fairy tales and loaded with hidden agendas to express Schwitters philosophies and values. A talented, disturbing man caught up in a world that was not in synch with his unique style . Wonderfully translated by Jack Zipes and beautifully illustrated by Irvine Peacock this book is a must for anyone with a sense of humour.

A wonderful collection of rare tales, beautifully crafted.
This is one of the best collections of modern fairy tales I have come across in a long while. Like most fairy tales, these stories are not written for children. Instead, they are satirical, witty, and often darkly humorous tales that explore a variety of artistic and social themes. Kurt Schwitter's biting tales and Jack Zipes' masterful translation and expert commentary will not disappoint fans of fairy tale literature, dadaist and surrealist art, or experimental poetry and prose. The illustrations throughout the book are also a great treat, and make for an attractive volume of work available nowhere else in English.Five stars!

A Princess, a King, and Three Wishes
From the dark forests of Germany, where the brothers Grimm collected their stories, comes a new interpretation of the fairy tale. In these stories, a woman can die from being too beautiful; a cat and mouse can become a team of killers; and a man can be sentenced to death rather than save the princess.

Like the original Grimm Fairy Tales, the stories in //Lucky Hans and Other Merz Fairy Tales// are not for the faint of heart. According to Jack Zipes's introduction, Kurt Schwitters was a German artist and writer during the 1920's. Schwitters was influenced by the European Dadaist movement, and some of his fairy tales reflect the Dadaist tendency towards absurdity and non-meaning. These, however, are less interesting than the stories in which Schwitters employs irony to play with the genre's conventions. For instance, "A King Without People," imagines what would happen if a king had no kingdom, subjects or power. Also interesting are the stories with a political agenda, such as the one where an army is destroyed by one of its own soldiers.

While an interesting piece of artistic history, these are not stories for children, unless, like me, your child has a morbid streak.

Reviewed by Katie Cappello ... Read more

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It would be impossible to overstate the importance of that moment when, in the artistic upheaval of the interwar years, the young Kurt Schwitters created his own art form, "Mertz," out of wood, labels, bus tickets, and various other detritus. Kurt Schwitters: 'I is Style' reproduces over twenty texts-poems, anecdotes, essays, and statements of purpose-by Schwitters and his contemporaries Tristan Tzara, Hans Arp, and Hans Richter. In addition, four major essays look closely at various aspects of Schwitters' work: distinguished art scholar Rudi Fuchs writes on Schwitters' art in the context of Expressionism; German Schwitters authority Siegfried Gohr examines Schwitters' ideas on the creative process and looks at his singular place in art history; Gunda Luyken's subject is Schwitters and America-his enthusiasm for the country and his contacts with American artists and writers; and Dorothea Dietrich explores his use of collage. ... Read more

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Written in memory of the German collagist, painter, sculptor, and writer, Kurt Schwitters (who referred to all of his works as "Merz"; a syllable taken from the advertisement for the Kommerzund Privatbank and included in all his earliest assemblages), this is a series of visually arresting verbal collages from America s foremost experimental poet of the last 30 years. Lacing together words, word fragments, and phrases all relating to Schwitters and his work, some computer generated this is a landmark celebration of the Dada spirit in modern poetry. 42 Merzgedichte is yet another masterful work from the inventor of a prolific range of systematic chance operations for poetry and one of the most unique voices of modern literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Poetry? Not really.
Jackson Mac Low, 42 Merzgedichte In Memoriam Kurt Schwitters (Station Hill Press, 1994)

Guess I started with the wrong book from Jackson Mac Low. 42 Merzgedichte in Memoriam Kurt Schwitters is basically unreadable; it's certainly not poetry. The first piece is a collage of various quotes by and about Schwitters from various places, and the forty-one following are successive degenerations of same, to the point where, in the final few, Mac Low (using a computer to generate the pieces) forgoes even language, coming up with various strings of letters that have no meaning whatsoever.

Sound is the most important component in poetry, but it has to be sound that means something, or at least is phrased as if it could mean something (viz. The work of John M. Bennett, who should by rights be America's foremost L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poet; still, the establishment remains overlay enamored of Mac Low, Bernstein, et al. despite their output having not resembled poetry in some years). What we have here is an unreadable stew.

The most interesting thing in the book is that one of the pieces is set to music, and the last fifty or so pages here is an overview of how the piece should be performed. This is good stuff, and may be worth at least the time of borrowing it from the library and reading that last section; here, Mac Low is doing something interesting (and the piece set to music is one that is, for the most part, intelligible). The rest, though, is easily ignored. * ½ ... Read more