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The Schwitters Scandal
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Sound Poetry. The Schwitter's scandal was pure DADA! While he was alive, Schwitters provoked the art world with his one-man DADA movement Merz, which united painting, sculpture, architecture, literature and sound poetry in fragments. After his death he hit the headlines due to several sensational inheritance lawsuits involving his heirs, a mistress, the Norwegian government, and the Marlborough Ga;;ery - which had gained notoriety in the Rothko scandal. Looking back on Schwitters' lief and work, this film unravels a bizarre story of deceit, intrigue, power and money.
Musicians and artists who were influenced or did versions of his sound work:
Brian Eno sampled Schwitters' recording of Ursonate for the "Kurt's Rejoinder" track on his 1977 album, Before and after Science.
Electronic music duo Matmos used Ursonate in Schwitt/Urs on Quasi-Objects.
DJ Spooky included Anna Blume in a mix in his Sound Unbound project.
Japanese musician Merzbow took his name from Schwitters.
A fictionalised account of Schwitters' time in London is the subject of Man and Boy: Dada, an opera by Michael Nyman and Michael Hastings.
The German hip-hop band Freundeskreis quoted from his poem An Anna Blume in their hit single "ANNA".
The krautrock band Faust have a song entitled "Dr. Schwitters snippet".
Billy Childish made a short film on Schwitters life, titled The Man with Wheels, (1980, directed by Eugean Doyan).
Chumbawamba include a decidedly energetic take on Ursonate in their song "Ratatatay", featured on the album ABCDEFG. The song is about George Melly and in particular his story of spontaneously reciting Ursonate, in order to scare off a pair of robbers who confronted him one evening in Manchester.
Einstürzende Neubauten include samples of member N. U. Unruh reciting Ursonate in the song "Let's Do It A Dada" on the album Alles wieder offen.
Contemporary artists Jutta Koether, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Kenneth Goldsmith, Eline McGeorge and Karl Holmqvist were commissioned to make new installation works in 2009 in response to Kurt Schwitters as part of the Senses[71] exhibition which took place in Ålesund, Norway (2009) and at Chisenhale Gallery, London (2010).
Three members of the band British Sea Power were brought up near Schwitters' home in Cumbria. They have referenced his work in their songs and used a recording of Ursonate at their live shows. Jan Scott Wilkinson of the band contributed to Tate Britain's Schwitters retrospective in 2013.[72]
Tonio K dedicated the track "Merzsuite – Let Us Join Together in a Tune, Umore, Futt Futt Futt" on his album Amerika to Kurt Schwitters.[73]
American author Paul Auster uses the name Anna Blume repeatedly in his works. For example the main character in In the Country of Last Things is named Anna Blume.
Directed By – - Simon Chu