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merZels (experimental anim's)

See our featured presentation: -[twill-wert-kkkkh]- On this page: {Intro} {Stuff} {Stuff} {Stuff} {Stuff} {Stuff} {Stuff} {Links}

Intro

The concept of "mertz" (also, "merts", "merz"; but not nertz) was originated by a chance encounter of some fallen news papers on which Kurt Schwitters happened to see the word "CommertzBank" - bank of commerce. And in a slightly improbably burst of genius he came up with mertz - which is a slang sort of expression (in German) for "crap"; not to be confused with Schist ??sp?? which is German for Merde (shit). Regardless, thus began (or so the story goes) one of the most important aspects of Dada - for indeed he was of that tree of the art orchard. Another example (and equally improbably but most likely true) was that as Unkle Kurt was (ahem) exiting Hitler's Germany, he handed over his travel papers, passport, permission to travel, license for a un-tamed decimal point, etc. The official threw them to the ground and said something to the effect of "get out here!". Years later Schwitters (for he is also known by that name) came across the documents in a drawer and now that he had a nice place to stared at them realising how important they had once been to him and his escape. And now they just lay there (in the drawer as papers are often want to do) and realised that they too had been transformed into mertz. This became the basis for one of his grandest experiments in dada: "Opened by the Postal Department for Inspection" (as the Posts division was in charge of the borders)

Stuff

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