This film is one in a series that traces the developments in art from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The featured artist is Kurt Schwitters, the German-born artist who many call the greatest 20th century master of collage. Starting as a painter who was part of the dadaist movement, Schwitters began to do collages with common trash, such as broken glass, bits of paper, and old tram tickets that he found in the street an exploited for their colour, texture and surprise value. He called his art 'Merz.' Although much of his work was destroyed in an air raid in Nazi Germany, many of his most famous works were filmed here during an exhibition at the George Pompidou Museum.
Great close-ups of some of Schwitters' work, good analysis and background, shows how he is still influential on present day artists and how he influenced subsequent generations: Fluxus, etc).