Conor McGarrigle gives a general
introduction to Kurt Schwitters' seminal Hannover Merzbau
Kurt Schwitters is best known for his collages and assemblages
and for his association with the dada art movement in
the 1920's and thirties. But his most important work is
less well known. Starting in the 1920's and continuing
until he fled Germany in 1936 he constructed an enormously
ambitious work of art in his Hannover home. The
Hannover Merzbau was a vast architectural construction.
There is no doubt that he was influenced by the constructivist
concept of the total environment where the architecture,
furniture, art etc of a room are integrated to create
the total arrangement and structure of the space. In 1921
his friend the constructivist artist Erich Buchholz had
transformed the interior of his Berlin appartment in this
fashion.
Schwitters undoubtedly saw, and
was influenced by this. However he went a little further.
Ernst Schwitters, his son, has
said that it started with his father's interest in the
relationship between the pictures he hung on the walls
and the sculptures on the floor. He started by tying strings
to emphasis these interactions. These in turn became wires,
then were replaced by wooden structures which, in turn,
were joined with plaster. The merzbau grew and grew, eventually
filling several rooms on various floors of the house.
As the construction grew grottos
and caves appeared in it's internal space, each of which
had their own independant life. These grottos were often
very personal and almost fetishtic, with many being devoted
to his friends. These are mentioned in many contemporary
accounts as he often stole his friends belongings to fill
these.
NEXT
PAGE |
