Kurt Schwitters Merzbau: The Cathedral of Erotic Misery (Building Studies, 5) (Paperback)

by Elizabeth Burns Gamard (Author) "Dedicated to the study of Kurt Schwitters' pre-eminent work of art, the Hannover Merzbau, the sum of this book has taken six years to write-though..." (more)
Key Phrases: Kurt Schwitters, Anna Blume, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This graduate-level discourse on Kurt Schwitters (1887$1948) suggests that there is a hermeneutic content to the artist!s works. Highly regarded author Gamard (architecture, Tulane Univ.), who deploys a moderately academic writing style, believes that Schwitters!s best work was his famous construction in Hannover of the house-sized Merzbau, begun in 1923 and destroyed in 1943. The KdeE (as the Merzbau was also called) was an environment that grew out of Schwitters!s studio in his family!s apartment and adopted utopian and alchemistic themes. Over the years, Schwitters endlessly transformed the space into a cathedral-like series of grottoes, collages, and sections named Cave of the Sex, Lust Murderers, and Cave of the Deprecated Heroes, among others. The book contains 50 black-and-white illustrations, but they do not support Gamard!s argument regarding the superiority of the KdeE. Suited to Schwitters specialists and the sophisticated follower of modern European art, this challenging work is for specialized academic or large public collections."Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson Univ., MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Well-researched study, Gamard's evaluation of Schwitters' artwork clarifies its relevance to architecture. -- Architecture Magazine, June 2000

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (February 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568981368
• ISBN-13: 978-1568981369
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,031,019 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many inaccuracies, July 5, 2004

By A Customer

This study of Kurt Schwitters's Merzbau is very disappointing, particularly coming from a Professor of Architecture, as the largely unexplored architectural aspects of the Merzbau have in general been ignored. The first part of the book is interesting insofar as it provides an introduction to the post-modernist aspects of Schwitters's work, but when it comes to more detail about Schwitters and the Merzbau, there are far too many inaccuracies. For instance, Professor Gamard is unsure about the exact location of the main sections of the Merzbau (placing it both on the ground and second floor of Schwitters' home) and is vague on Weimar history, stating that Weimar was the capital of the Weimar Republic. In all, there is far too much in this book which is plain theorising and which has no substantial factual basis.