Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), Merz #1, 1920 |

Cut paper, image: 5 1/8 × 4 in. (13 × 10.2 cm) |

Katherine S. Dreier Bequest |

1952.2.8 

 

In 1919, Kurt Schwitters coined the term “Merz” to describe his collage and assemblage pieces made of collected scraps. Created while the artist was living in Hannover, Merz #1 incorporates such ephemera as newspaper clippings and discarded wallpaper. On its own, each element in Merz was a commercial “object”—an item one would have bought, used, and thrown out. But, via collage, Schwitters transforms these discarded elements of public life into an “object portrait.” Of course, Merz #1 does not communicate the artist’s actual appearance in 1920. Instead, it represents his fractured identity and the instability of the Western world in general at this time. When Schwitters made this work, World War I had recently ended, and the Dada movement was in full swing. Like Hannah Höch and Jean Arp, Schwitters turned to collage to explore the absurdity of everyday life.