In 1918, nearly 100 years ago, German artist Kurt Schwitters said “… Everything had broken down and new things had to be made out of the fragments; and this is Merz. It was like a revolution within me, not as it was, but as it should have been.”
Along with Pablo Picasso, Schwitters was one of the progenitors of collage–assembling together diverse elements already in existence and making a dialectical montage. The act of repurposing is more relevant than ever. It is not to discount invention and progress, but when things fall apart, there is great opportunity to cull through what we already know, fashion together something new, and bring it forth through our creative fire.
I am not a doomsayer or a gloom lover, (although I have been called “pensive”) I am just waking up to the reality that nobody knows when things will ease up, turn around, or get better. It probably won’t be for a long time. And it will never be how it used to be. It seems like everyday I hear about someone else losing their job, another leader doing something corrupt, some big market crashing, and so on…and nobody is coming.
Hooray. Let’s Merz. Nobody is going to fix the world. We can only fix it from right where we are. Kurt Schwitters said, “I’m a painter and I nail my pictures together.”
Merz is not just for artists, it is a way of being and becoming and building.
What will you nail together? Look around at what speaks to you. There’s lots to work with.
And in case you do want to see some of the newest and best in collage art, check out the book, “Cutting Edges“
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Well said, Alyson! It is time to pick up and move….personally, my writing work is a focus that blends my experiences with a new medium to express them. As you say, we are called to fashion something new and perhaps that is what evolutionary process is all about (personally and globally) Thanks for the great new word MERZ!
Kellie´s last blog post ..Spiritual Confidence – Your 2012 Gift To Yourself
Thanks for commenting! You are right, it is time to pick up and move forward, taking along all we have learned, leaving behind what no longer serves…excited to see what’s next!
Alyson Khan´s last blog post ..New work in the woodworks
I too believe we are limited in how we can affect the ‘bigger picture’. I try to take care of myself and my world – that is enough for me. And yes, I ‘Merz’ too.
Ellie
Ellie´s last blog post ..Self Help for Panic Attacks
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