<strong>Kurt</strong> <strong>Schwitters</strong>: A genius in friendship · by Siegfried Gohr 90 <strong>Kurt</strong> <strong>Schwitters</strong>, GäsTebuch FÜR Die mERzausstellunG, 1922 Visitors’ book, pencil, colored pencil on cardboard (cover) and paper Exhibition MERZ Ausstellung. Gemälde und Zeichnungen von <strong>Kurt</strong> <strong>Schwitters</strong> (Anna Blume), Roemer-Museum, Hildesheim 1922 © bpk / Sprengel Museum Hannover / Brigitte Borrmann
you liked my sonata. May I introduce you to my dear friend, Arp? He is a great artist and poet and a likeable man, but a little crazy.’” 91 This anecdote can be fathomed in many directions, but what the epithet “crazy” means, which <strong>Schwitters</strong> and Arp mutually attributed to each other, has the important connotation that here it is a matter of persons who possessed an artistic core that did not allow itself to be pushed aside and ‘deranged’, for which reason they could be regarded from the outside as crazy. A further motif can already be read from the sparse lines, namely, that of a friendship among artists. When, as a consequence of the French Revolution, the ties of artists to the state and church became increasingly loosened, artists sought a new exchange and a protection that often was only possible through friendships or associations of artists. The German Nazarenes in Rome around 1800 marked a beginning. Innumerable further unions followed. In the 20th century not only the element of friendship formed the ground for cohesion, but also an artistic mission, an idea, a shared artistic or social project. <strong>Schwitters</strong> stimulated such unions, but he also profited from initiatives emanating from others. After friendly connections in his home-town of Hanover when he was still painting in a traditional way, contact with the avant-garde in Berlin came about. One of the significant motors of the new art there was Herwarth Walden with his gallery, Der Sturm. Here <strong>Schwitters</strong> exhibited for the first time in 1918. Walden was active internationally, his artists coming not only from Germany. In the summer of 1919 <strong>Schwitters</strong> achieved a breakthrough when he showed at Walden’s gallery the first <strong>Merz</strong> paintings, his completely individual version of Dadaism. But Walden organized not only exhibitions, but also discussion evenings with talks, publishing also a periodical and running a publishing house. <strong>Schwitters</strong> began to publish his first poems, not only in Walden’s periodical, but also in the publishing house of Paul Steegemann in Hanover; here the anthology Anna Blume appeared. <strong>Schwitters</strong> remained restlessly active not only as an artist, but organized, starting in the 1920s, also discussion evenings where he presented his own texts. Often, however, he planned these soirees not by himself, for instance, on a trip to Prague in 1921. His wife, Helma <strong>Schwitters</strong>, also attended, as well as Raoul Hausmann and Hannah Höch. The evenings were clearly successful, to which not least of all <strong>Schwitters</strong>’ personal charm contributed. This was followed in 1922/23 by the legendary ‘Dada campaign’ in the Netherlands during which numerous towns were visited. <strong>Schwitters</strong>, Theo van Doesburg and Vilmos Huzár took part. This enterprise drew a lot of attention. For <strong>Schwitters</strong>, not only the event was important, but also the possibility of enlarging his network. Scarcely any artist of his generation made and cultivated friendships so consciously, sought out acquaintances, always guided by the striving to incorporate artists and people into his career who had understanding for the avant-garde or were themselves engaged in artistic developments on the front line. The episode about how <strong>Schwitters</strong> won over Raoul Hausmann is particularly telling. The whole thing took place in 1918 or 1919 in Café des Westens in Berlin. <strong>Schwitters</strong> went up to Hausmann and introduced himself which, however, did not have any great effect. Then he said, “I am a painter; I nail my paintings”. Now the other became curious and a lifelong friendship and collaboration resulted. <strong>Schwitters</strong> even tried from England to renew the contract with the friend in order to realize their common newspaper project, PIN. However, it never came about. Among all his friends, Hans Arp had a special place. They met for the first time in 1918 in Café des Westens in Berlin. Arp was working in a style that he had developed from cubism. Under his influence <strong>Schwitters</strong> glued some abstract collages in 1918, of which one is called Hans, thus representing an homage to his friend
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“In part spurred by Rauschenberg
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‘constructivist’ period, which,
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Sonata and after the Dadaists perio
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141 All art of any significance com
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143 The extraordinary American coll
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NR: Tell me, Damien, when did you f
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as important as Marcel Duchamp. DH:
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NR: So what happened to the house?
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“Imitation remains imitation. Imi
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Kurt Schwitters, Auwiese, 1920, new
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Hausmann, and Hannah Höch, all of
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In November, Schwitters publishes M
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several weeks later becomes dictato
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exhibition catalogue. In November 1
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Original Recordings by Kurt Schwitt
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Collage/Collages from Cubism to New
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1, 3, and 4. Ed. Perdita Lottner. E
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The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Ka
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