Our Project, inspiration, summary & outline
Schwitters: ‘Yes, I was very ill, I became increasingly thin, but my spirit could not be beaten. I devoted every minute I could to my work. My Merzbarn is better and more important than anything I have done up to now’
The remarkable route
A little-known (not to mention unfinished and virtually inaccessible) piece
of mid-twentieth century art, namely a wall in a barn, becomes derelict
and threatens to crumble into oblivion.
No big deal, it happens a lot. End of story. However, in this particular
story the local guardian of the piece of art ferrets around until he at
last persuades a “leading art pope and professor in an art academy” of the
importance of the piece of work.
In 1965 the wall was amputated from the barn and transported on a low loader
along an adventurous route and deposited in a new, custom-built wing of
the academy gallery.
In the last 40 years not only are the importance and significance of the
piece slowly but steadily being grasped, but also the indissoluble connection
between the work of art and its original surroundings is being recognized.
Quintessentially what we are left with is a
'wall without barn' and a
'barn without wall '.
All that remains are the two locations, revamped to accommodate the new
perceptions, whose only link is a story and a ‘remarkable’ route slowly
fading from living memory.
Just until 2011…see new developments.
The barn, Elterwater 1947
The barn, Elterwater 2008
