Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau

the long version

"German artist Kurt Schwitters' Hannover Merzbau, a combination of collage, sculpture, and architecture, began in 1923 with a small construction in a corner of his studio, a room contained within the apartment he shared with his family. Also known as "The Cathedral of Erotic Misery" or KdeE, the project eventually took over much of his home, filling the rooms with grottoes and caves dedicated to friends, artists, and cultural events. Left unfinished when Schwitters fled Hannover in early 1937, the Merzbau was completely destroyed during an Allied bombing raid over Hannover in 1943.". "While the project is usually listed as a marginal episode in the annals of Modern art and architecture, the Merzbau is of seminal importance in understanding the complex relationships between several European Avant-garde movements, including Expressionism, Dada, Constructivism, and Merz, the one-man movement Schwitters insisted was available to anyone. The book also provides information sporting the belief that artists such as Joseph Beuys and Robert Rauschenberg consciously extend the project of Merz."--BOOK JACKET.