German-born painter, Kurt Schwitters, brought renaissance to the art world with his fragmented collage compositions, termed "Merz," that epitomized the Dada expression: that art could be made from anything. From his early youth, his life was affected by the tremblings of epilepsy and war. Political tensions charged the German atmosphere with uncertainty, fear and panic and the dark corners of expressionism invaded his naturalistic paintings as he moved into a more abstract state of mind. As he walked outside the political edge of Dadaism, his paintings were ridiculed and insultingly hung upside-down in German exhibitions. His 1918 exhibit at Berlin's Der Sturm gallery brought him into an expanded association with apolitical avant-garde Dada artists, causing him to walk away from traditional art, and concentrate on collage and paper constructions.
As Schwitters traveled and lectured throughout Europe, his life's work engaged him with the most notable artists of his time. His new expressive form created controversy in the art community, but to Schwitters, it was an order that took the chaos of his life and organized it in an inspired and beautiful work of art.
As a publisher, poet, artist and businessman, his life took many turns: artistic ostracism, political exile; but, through the faithfulness of his only surviving child, Ernst, his artworks that escaped destruction were eventually preserved and secured. This unique innovator opened a new dimension to art audiences and his influence lives on today. American Pop Artist, Robert Rauschenberg, proclaimed after Schwitters' 1959 exhibit at the Sidney Janis Gallery, that "I felt like he made it all just for me."
After the artist's death on January 8, 1948, the The Schwitters Scandal: Kurt Schwitters, opens on the attempted kidnapping of the artist's partially paralyzed son, Ernst Schwitters, by his grandson, Bengt Schwitters, to transport him to the protection of his family in Norway, and away from the supposedly vain financial interests of Ernst's mistress, K. Ashley. Ernst, now physically incapacitated with the inability to speak caused from a stroke, is the sole heir of the 35+ million pound Schwitters' art fortune. The location of his eventual demise, be it Norway or England, would determine control of the artist's legacy. After battles in English courts, Ernst is put into the custody of his family in Norway where further entanglements will be unraveled for the justice of the Schwitters' art collection and fortune. This documentary gives insight to conflicts with court-appointed legal guardians and encroaching gallery contracts as the Schwitters family fights for control of Kurt Schwitters' multi-million dollar estate.
Bonus material includes the Trailer which features mini-biographical accounts and contributions of artists Rauschenberg and Tubke, and Germany's Bauhaus. Packaging includes "Impressum" by Tanja Jentsch, translated by Kennedy-Unglaub Translations. This text broadens on the Schwitters' internal legal battles over Kurt's estate, also focusing on more particular artworks and art phases in his life. Commentators within the documentary include Bengt Schwitters, Keith Hammett, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Dr. Ulrich Krempel, Brian Sewell, Katie Ashley, Harald Olsen, Dr. Norbert Nobis, Tone Bjorn, Lola Schwitters, and Christian Barnes.
I found this documentary, The Schwitters Scandal: Kurt Schwitters, to be quite unique and a slice of life that most disregard: death and the estate. To consider that one's family could be so embroiled in such affairs, when they should, in fact, just be trying to regain composure after grief. I learned to appreciate the German art experience a little more deeply, and to be empathetic with artists that have had to experience war and its destruction and corrupt madness.
I wish close captioning or subtitles had been included for the entire documentary and not just when a foreign language was spoken. It would have improved my experience, but it's a minor gripe.
