Myself and my aims: writings on art and criticism

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.

1 The Problem of Abstract Art. First Attempt (June-August 1910) 2 Problem of Pure Painting. 2nd Attempt. 1. Beginning (before December 1910) 3 Materials for My Work on the Problem of Pure Painting. 3rd Attempt (November 1910) 4 2nd Beginning to the Problem of Pure Painting. 2nd Attempt (December 1910-January 1911) 5 Abstract Painting. 1918. A. (February 1918) 6 Merz-Painting (July/November 1919) 7 A Solid Article: A Wienerization in Sturm (August 1919) 8 The Merz-Theater / To All the Theaters of the World (1919) 9 Artists' Right to Self-Determination (1919) 10 Thou Me, I Thee, We Mine (and Sun Infinity Thin Out the Stars) (December 1919) 11 Nothing Kills Quicker Than Ridicule (February 1920) 12 Berliner Börsenkukukunst (February 1920) 13 Tran Number 7. General Amnesty for My Hannoverian Critics in the Style of Merz (April 1920) 14 What Art Is: A Guide for Great Critics (April 1920) 15 Statement (April 1920) 16 [I divide my poetry into three types . . .] (April 1920) 17 Hannover (June 1920) 18 Extension (June 1920) 19 Tran Number 11. German Popular Criticism, the Criticism of Reconstruction (August 1920) 20 Tran No. 12. Criticism as Artwork (September 1920) 21 Tran Number 13. The Private Scouring Cloth: Contribution to a Phenomenology of Critical Enjoyment (October 1920) 22 Tran No. 14. Dr. Frog Starves the Intellect (October 1920) 23 Tran Number 16. Life on Blind Feet (December 1920) 24 Kurt Schwitters (1920) 25 Tran Number 17. The Fettered Paul Madsack (December 1920) 26 MERZ (Written for the Ararat, 19 December 1920) (January 1921) 27 Tran No. 15. The Average Phenomenon with Clear Eyes (January 1921) 28 Why I Am Dissatisfied with Oil Painting (January 1921) Translated from Hungarian by John Batki 29 Tran 18 (February 1921) 30 Evening Reading (ca. February 1921) 31 My Views on the Value of Criticism (for the Ararat) (May 1921) 32 Cleanliness (for People Who Don't Know It Yet) (May 1921) 33 Tran 19 (August 1921) 34 Castle and Cathedral with Courtyard Fountain (1922) 35 Tran 21. Speech at the Grave of Leo Rein (in the Berliner Börsenzeitung 547 on 27 November 1921) (January 1922) 36 Tragedy. Tran No. 22, against Dr. Weygandt, PhD and MD (May 1922) 37 i (A Manifesto) (May 1922) 38 Tran No. 26 (1922) 39 Tran 23 (September 1922) 40 Introduction to Tran No. 30: Auguste Bolte (1923) 41 The Self-Overcoming of Dada (January 1923) Translated from Dutch by Michael White 42 [Introduction to Merz 1. Holland Dada] (January 1923) 43 Dadaism in Holland (January 1923) 44 [Editorial note to Vilmos Huszár, Mechanische Dansfiguur] (January 1923) 45 Style (ca. January-April 1923) 46 i (April 1923) 47 WAR (April 1923) 48 War (April 1923) 49 Manifesto Proletarian Art (April 1923) 50 From the World: "MERZ" (April-June 1923) 51 Banalities (3) (July 1923) 52 dada complet. 1 (July 1923) 53 Banalities (4) / [Tristan Tzara] (July 1923) 54 DADA NEWS (July 1923) 55 WATCH YOUR STEP! (October 1923) 56 Merz (1924) 57 i (January 1924) 58 DADA COMPLET No. 2. / TRAN 50 (January 1924) 59 Dadaists (January 1924) 60 [Advertisement for Merz 8/9. Nasci] (January 1924) 61 Tran 35. Dada Is a Hypothesis (March 1924) 62 Rigorous Poetry (June 1924) 63 Dadaism (1924) Translated from Polish by Kamila Kuc 64 National Feeling (August 1924) 65 The Westheim Threat, Again (December 1924) 66 National Art (1925) 67 [What Is Madness?] (ca. mid-1920s) 68 Theses on Typography (1925) 69 [The Standard Merz Stage] (1925) 70 STANDARD MERZ STAGE (July 1925) 71 Religion or Socialism (July 1925) 72 STANDARD MERZ STAGE (Some Practical Suggestions.) (July 1925) 73 The ABC of the Standard Merz Stage (July 1925) 74 Language (November 1925) 75 Standard Stage by Kurt Schwitters (December 1925) 76 Gut Garkau (ca. late 1925/early 1926) 77 FANTASTIC THOUGHTS (ca. 1926) 78 Art and the Times (March 1926) 79 The New Architecture in Germany (March 1926) 80 Life's Path (May 1926) 81 Facts from My Life (June 1926) 82 Rhythm in the Work of Art (October 1926) 83 Merz-Book (October 1926) 84 Standard Stage (October 1926) 85 My Merz and My Monster Merz: Model Marketplace at Sturm (October 1926) 86 Call It Coincidence (ca. mid-1920s) 87 The Artist and His Titles (1926) 88 Merz 20. Kurt Schwitters Catalogue (1927) 89 [Ella Bergmann-Michel] (March 1927) 90 [Letter to Wassily Kandinsky] (April 1927) 91 Elementary Knowledge in Painting (ca. 1927) 92 Style or Form-Creation (1927) 93 typography and orthography: lowercase (ca. 1927) 94 Sensation (July 1927) 95 Front against Fronta: Afterword to the Foreword of Fronta (July-August 1927) 96 Proposals for a Systematic Typeface (August-September 1927) 97 Sense of Duty (September 1927) 98 Stuttgart, The Home--Werkbund Exhibition (October 1927) 99 My Sonata in Ur-Sounds (November 1927) 100 Kitsch and Dilettantism (December 1927) 101 Good or Bad Fortune (December 1927) 102 On Greek Temples (April 1928) 103 Appearance (ca. spring 1928) 104 Third Prague Letter (May 1928) 105 The New Architecture in Celle: The Architect Otto Haesler (August 1928) 106 Form