Schwitters made his collages from scraps of paper and other discarded items. He was inspired by Cubist collage and by his association with the Dada movement, with its embrace of the irrational and absurd in response to the atrocities of World War I. Schwitters's collages made after 1922 often display a rectilinear organization reflecting his ties to Russian Constructivism through his friendship with El Lissitzky.
Gallery label from Geo/Metric: Prints and Drawings from the Collection, June 11–August 18, 2008.