Dadaist? Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) was the master of sublime recycling, transforming what others discard into art. Primarily known for his collages, especially small and meticulously crafted ones, he also created large accumulations that invaded spaces, spilling out of windows and turning his own home into what we would now call an installation—though at the time, it had no name. He dubbed it the Cathedral of Erotic Misery.
A truly eccentric and unique figure, the German artist, classified in manuals under the dadaist category, was fertile with many other ideas. A great graphic designer and advertiser, as well as a sound and visual poet, in his later years he began incorporating labels from canned foods and images from magazines into his collages, anticipating the Pop Art movement.
The first Italian volume dedicated to him, the monograph, consists of previously unpublished texts in Italian, a selection of his most important writings, and a broad anthology of texts from his major international scholars (Karin Orchard, Isabelle Ewig, Marc Dachy, Serge Lemoine, Nancy Perloff, etc.), which offer a full picture of his personality and artistic journey.

As with every volume in the Riga monographic series, this book is complemented by new studies written for the occasion (by Marco Belpoliti, Megan R. Luke, Riccardo Venturi, Elio Grazioli, etc.) and tributes from writers and visual artists.