Kurt Schwitters was a major protagonist in the histories of modern art
and literature, whose response to the contradictions of modern life
rivals that of Marcel Duchamp in its importance for artists working
today. His celebrated Merz pictures--collaged and assembled from the
scrap materials of popular culture and the debris of the studio, such as
newspaper clippings, wood, cardboard, fabric, and paint--reflect a
lifelong interest in collection, fragmentation, and abstraction,
techniques he also applied to language and graphic design.
As the first anthology in English of the critical and theoretical
writings of this influential artist, Myself and My Aims makes the case
for Schwitters as one of the most creative thinkers of his generation.
Including material that has never before been published, this volume
presents the full range of his prolific writing on the art and attitudes
of his time, joining existing translations of his children's stories,
poetry, and fiction to give new readers unprecedented access to his
literary imagination. With an accessible introduction by Megan R. Luke
and elegant English translations by Timothy Grundy, this book will prove
an exceptional resource for artists, scholars, and enthusiasts of his
art.