Merz 3 (0/3) 1923

Kurt Schwitters made this Merz collage, number three in a series, with paper and ink. I can imagine Schwitters piecing this together, a bit like visual poetry, finding rhythms and rhymes between shapes and colours, building new forms from fragments. The blue bar, so vertical and strong, anchors the composition, while the red squares pop like little jolts of energy. Then there is this glimpse of text, the word 'OUR' asserting itself amid the chaos. It makes me wonder, what 'OUR' is Schwitters referring to? The layering of graphic elements creates a sense of depth, like a cityscape viewed through a shattered lens. You can see how Schwitters was part of a bigger conversation with his contemporaries, like the Dadaists, all playing with chance and embracing the absurd. It’s a reminder that art isn’t about answers, but about embracing uncertainty and letting meaning emerge from the chaos.