Kurt Schwitters in Hanover: Investigation of a Cultural Environment

This dissertation investigates the cultural environment of Hanover between 1916 and the end of the Weimar Republic. It argues for a reassessment of collage-artist Kurt Schwitters's work in terms of the alternative art community set up by the Kestner-Gesellschaft, an association that introduced Hanover to modern artistic movements such as Expressionism and Constructivism through its exhibitions and lectures. An investigation of the discourse that the Kestner-Gesellschaft provoked makes it possible to see Schwitters's advocation of artistic autonomy as an attempt to free art from politically doctrinaire influence. This is important, for it shows that Schwitters was not interested in formalism for its own sake and consciously posited his artistic viewpoint in opposition to society's notion of art. Because Schwitters reacted to conventional artistic values, the reception of his work becomes key. His collages and literary works such as "Anna Blume" and "Glorious Revolution in Revon" demonstrate that Schwitters strategically played off societal expectations regarding art, in a way similar to how his collages rely on the dynamic configuration of various elements. A discussion of the critical writings of Christof Spengemann and Paul Erich Kuppers in chapter 2 illuminates the attempts to legitimize modern art through Expressionist rhetoric. Chapter 3 discusses the reception of Constructivism by focusing on the work of museum director Alexander Dorner. By looking at the guest book he placed within this structure, and by examining eye-witness accounts of tours given by Schwitters, the last chapter centers on the Merzbau and the way Schwitters creates it as a site of transaction with society. The dissertation gives an insight into the methods employed by Schwitters and others within the alternative art community in Hanover to give modern movements such as Expressionism, Dada and Constructivism a productive and transactional role within society.