q
Kurt Schwritters and
I Write an Opera
at the Movies
RAOUL
HAUSMANN
Translated by Damian Searls
Whatfollows is an excerptfrom the unpublishedfirst part of Raoul Hausmann's autobiographical novel,
Hyle (a Greek word:Aristotle's "stuff, unformed matter"). Eva Zuchner edited and published this excerpt
as "The Story cifMerz and Gal"in Kurt Schwitters und Raoul Hausmann schreiben im Kino eine
Oper (Berlinische Galerie, 2001), a downright delighiful book even for non-German-readers, with numerous photographs, documents, artworks, and movie stills, as well as a long essay by Zuchner. I have adapted
Zuchner's book title as the title of Hausmann's text (admittedly, the emphasis on Schwitters is ltardly in
Hausmann's competitive spirit), and at one point, where Hausmannfollows a couplet Schwitters wrote with
a couplet of his own, I have given two different translations of the pair in order to capture the sexual, political, and whimsical one-upmanship all equally present in the origina/. Otherwise I have followed Zuchner's
transcription exactly, preserving the irregularities and even misspellings in Hausmann's prose.
In the story itself, "Gal" is Hausmann-the name recalls Gali/eo, according to Zuchner, since Hausmann the "Dadasoph" always "wanted to see the world moved and in motion." "The Little Lady" is
Hausmann's wife, Heta, nee Hedwig Mankiewitz, and "Ara" is the third member cif their Berlin menage a
trois, Vera Broi·do; 'Jeanne" in the flashback is Hannah Hoch, while "Merz," of course, is Kurt Schwitters,
who christened his own quasi-Dadaist movement "Merz" and began to call many cifhis paintings, collages,
...
RAOUL
HAUSMANN
59
structures, selves, and other artistic projects by that name.
"Mamma a man is standing there," "Revonah" (an imaginary anti-Hannover), and other words and phrases from
Schwitters appear throughout the text, <iften altered by
Hausmann.
-
Damion Searls
The Province of Hannover sends
her ambassador. A man is standing
there. Merz has rung the doorbell.
Now he is standing there. Tall,
blond, the German teacher. A man
is standing there in the middle of
the room. The embodiment of the
metaphysical sanitation department of a sissy-pissy city, Hannover. Revonah. Gal says to Ara,
"I'll never forget one time I saw
Merz. It was in Lovosice. Jeanne
and I had gone back to the train
station to ask about a hotel. When we came out
again: in front of the blackdarkgreen railroad embankment, under an applegreen February sky, a
lonesome gas lamp burning far above the scene:
on the street embankment, two people lost. The
woman is standing with arms stretched out in front
of her, loaded down with shirts, pants, all sorts of
stuff. A man kneels in front of her, next to books,
shoes-roots around in an open handbag. I ask
'Merz, what are you doing?' Merz glances up and
says 'I'm looking for my Merzpicture E, 471, i, I have
to stick on another scrap of blue paper right away.'
That was the birthplace of Surrealism. Never was
reality more unreal."
The man is standing there, he smiles at Ara with
false teeth. Turns to Gal: "I came here to see you. I
didn't come because I like you. I need something
new and I want to find it here, at your place." The
man is standing there. Renovah.
The tall guy, he says "Woman entrances with her
fanny, I am a man and don't have any"-but I say
"Woman entrannies with her fances,
I am a man and carry lances"[The tall guy, he says "A woman's
legs are made for kissing, I am a
man and mine are missing"-I say
"A woman's kisses are made for
legging, I am a man and I go begging"-]
He sits down in a leather club
chair without further ado or standing on ceremony, without standing
on anything, he can't stand to
make a stand so as not to laugh. Just
says what he wants, plain clear.
"This Threepenny Opera, you've heard of it.
Someone told me I should write an opera. So I
thought of you. I've started to work out an idea
and I want you to write me the songs for it."
Nothing moreless than that, this, thit.
"Sounds great, we can discuss it some more, but
right now I have three tickets to the movies, Pamir
is playing at Nollendorfplatz, do you want to come
too?"
"Of course I want to come too, why wouldn't I
come if I can, or dada."
"Good, let's get ready and go, I can tell you
about the movie later."
B RIC K
60
Something is Somehow, like total cardboarding
in the room as though everything were climbing
out of boxes. Maybe it's only boxstalks, it feels
so dry and old, Gal can just feel it but can't quite
remember it exactly, it is like-yes, what is it like?
what is quadrangular and takes it out of each
other and can and cannot? Whatever it is SOM Ethings itself so rarely from there, as though it were
a, a, -just that, a SOmeTHiNG, but what? So he says
to Merz, "What have you been up to lately?" since
the Little Lady and Ara, like all women, they are
never ready and they have to get ready before you
can go, that's the way it always goes.
" Me? Someone asked me to write a modern
drama. The Staatsoper in Berlin is looking for a new
modern play. It's supposed to last at least an hour.
Here's what I want to do: a political play, with class
struggle. I have a great idea. I'll divide the stage in
half, horizontally. Above it's all sofas and chaises
longues, and Below there's nothing. There are people
Above and people Below. They alternate rhythmically shouting 'Above Above Above-Below Below
Below.' Every now and then some people from
Above climb down Below, on ladders, and some
people from Below climb up Above. I don't think
it'll be hard to make it last an hour if I do a good
job working it out languagewise. What do you
think? Do you think I can stretch it out to two
hours? They'll pay me a lot more if the play lasts
longer."
"Of course I think you can work it out to two
hours, easily, you just need a lot of layers in the
dialogue," Gal says.
"But what do you think of the idea? Do you
like it?"
"I like it a lot, I really do: the essence of human
social problems and laid out in a way that everyone
can understand."
"Hm, glad to hear it."
"I mean it, it's a~ good as Aeschylus . But we
need to go already, where are those women? Hey!
Aren't you ready yet?"-"We're coming, we're
coming!" The Little Lady and Ara appear in the
doorway to the green room. Merz, the Schwitter
(that's his name but really it's a concept, the way
you might say the Schmoozer), consciously notices
Ara's brassish hair for the first time and says, "Why
do you frizz out your haaaair like a hat? Still, it
looks good on you , Ara. I'm on a first-name basis
with Gal and the Little Lady, so we can be casual
with each other too, can't we?"
"Sure, why not?" answers Ara. So it is decided
and sided and shuts the doors they go out through
like a shut-in shutting the shutter~ .
It must have already been May that evening. Nikolaus Lenau, the Baron von Strollenau, would have
sung:" May grass, auto gas, lots of people walking."
But there wasn't much strolling in the Au at the
Charlottenburg train station. Merz says, "I have a
new way of talkmg. Do you know ERR-language?
The werrkerr has to werrk ferrst, beferr he can
enjerr himserrf. I use it on everything. It's unbelieverrbly enterrtaining."
"So it is . Like this? Ass me no asstions, I'll tell
you no ass?"
RAOUL
HAUSMANN
61
And so it was, with chitchat like that on both
sides, no spite or respite, all the way to Nollendorfplatz. Ticket bought for Schwitt, in we went, down
we sat.
"Good, now we can talk. What kind of type of
opera do you want to write?"
"What, you two aren't planning to write something here, during the movie?" says Ara.
"Why not, Merz will tell me his idea and I'm
sure watching the Russian expedition ascend to
the roof of the world will inspire us. Merz can
write shortyhand, what more do we need."
Theatre still pretty empty, house lights reasonable,
patrons arrive slowly. "Okay listen: I'm thinking a
woman in a room, you can see the train station
through the window. A train arrives and the travelling salesman gets out. He heads straight up the
street. Then he knocks and the woman opens the
door. Of course there needs to be a song to express
the woman's anticipation when she sees the salesman coming. A second song when the two of them
see each other. Then they say a few words. They
agree to go away together, that evening, on the next
train. Third song. Then the husband comes home.
Makes the salesman's acquaintance. Fourth song.
About how hard life is. Goodbyes. Woman and
salesman look at each other, they are the only ones
who understand certain words, innuendos about
their escape. We see the salesman walk back down
the street to the train station. Then I picture a big
song from the woman about longing for life, the
desolate solitude of marriage. That's as far as I've
gotten, but we can figure out the rest together."
Gal says, "Wait a minute. First we have to work
out all the details, how the room is furnished, the
people's names, and so on, then there's no way
the rest of it will get away from us. But wait a
minute, let's watch the beginning of the movie."
It has gotten dark, a mass of text appears on the
screen, names, then a map of Soviet Russia and another of Pamir. Some random offices with men.
Members of the expedition. Preparations for the
journey. Gal says, half-loud, "Got your notebook?
Okay, write this down: The woman's name has to
be Marie, and her husband is Karl. You know, like
in the song, 'Little Marie, why are you crying,' and
her brother Karl. It has to be simple. The salesman
needs a romantic name, so let's make it Richard.
Did you get all that?"
"Yes."
On the screen people board an old-fashioned
train. "So, the room. You've already said we can see
the train station through the open window. Marie
has to stand in front of the window and iron laundry on a table. Electric iron . She can sing a good
song about that. Then, to the right of the window,
we need an African hemp plant on an etagere. In a
colourful majolica flowerpot. There's a window
sash, with a lace curtain and a red velvet curtain.
Then, wait a second, yes, a basket oflaundry on a
kitchen chair in front of the table. Then to the left
we need a carved sideboard against the wall, with
Renaissance detailing and turned columns, you
know, and the top part needs maybe an open door.
A few flower-patterned plates hanging on the
B RIC K
62
opposite wall, to balance out the sideboard. Dark
blue, red, olive green. Glazed. What do you think,
should we have a crystal chandelier for the ceiling?"
"Nah, that would spoil the view."
"Then we won't. But we need a fake Persian
rug."
"You have such an amazing imagination," says
Ara.
"Well, if I understand Merz correctly, the
whole thing has to be utterly banal, not all wound
up like The Threepermy Opera, right Kurt?"
A distant chain of mountains comes into view
on the projection screen. "Good, that's just what
I'm thinking."
"So now the first song needs to come in, something like: marriage is a prison, you have to work
and work just for him, the lord and master, a
housewife's life is cooking, cleaning, darning socks,
sweeping up, and then never a word of thanks from
your husband who does nothing but read the
newspaper and criticize everything you do, not a
bit of love; if only you had stayed a young girl; if
only someone would come and take you away on
the next train."
"Yes, do it however you want, that seems fine
to me."
What are they doing there up on the screen?
Roping themselves together, marching across a
high plateau with rucksacks on a humpback. All
right then. Photography is good. The Russians
understand that. Merz doesn't watch the movie
much, he is thinking about, testing what Gal says
and shortyhanding it down in his notebook.
Mountains come closer. People unpack, pitch tents.
"Hey, wait, we forgot something important in
the decor: the big nautilus shell."
"What? what kind of shell? the brown kind,
sprinkled with white, pink on the inside, that you
hold up to your ear to hear the sound of the
ocean?"
"No, the big kind,just like mother of pearl on
the outside, but grooved."
"Don't know it."
"But it needs to be there, and in fact on a lace
doily on the sideboard. Just write it down."
The Little Lady is very unhappy. What do these
two have to keep gabbling incessantly on about
during the nice movie. It's too stupid, can't they do
it later outside? Just then the ascent starts, whole
columns of men plod across dark boulders, up
above are cornices of snow.
"Marie has had her song, Richard the travelling
salesman comes down the main street, we've seen
him leave the train but Marie hasn't seen anything-what do you think of that?"
"In an opera you need a lot of gestures, we only
need words for the main events. Alternating silence
and dialogue. But Marie could stop ironing and
look out the window."
"No, I think love at first sight breaks out when
Richard, after he's knocked, opens the door and
sees Marie for the first time."
"Yes, good."
"He'll say: Dear lady, I represent Edelweiss, the
refrigerator company, and I'm sure that our cooling
appliance is the only thing missing from your life.
No, Marie answers, coldness is precisely not what
RAOUL
HAUSMANN
63
I'm missing. She looks at Richard with her big
blue eyes. Most beautiful lady, he says, I see, I feel,
I know without your telling me, what is missing
from your life, it is something you cannot buy: a
warm heart! They fall into each other's arms. Kiss.
A five-minute-Iong barnburner. Then Marie says:
My love, we must flee, Karl will be here any
minute. Ah yes , I understand, that must be the man
of the house. I think they should have a duet first
about the power of love, and fate , and that they
will run away, be together forever, tonight they will
meet at the train station and take the train . What
do you think of that?"
"I thought we'd have more songs. But I'll write
it down like you say for now. You're more systematic about these things than I am."
Snow bridges are crossed. Up is clambered. Themselves are hauled up, pulled, it's hard work on the
screen. Gal looks at it, thinks about something,
Schwitt waits.
"But I'm sticking almost exactly to your plan.
Now Karl has to show up, but he sees right away
from Richard 's briefcase-Richard can quickly
pull out a few brochures-that the man is a travelling salesman; to distract Karl from any suspicions,
Marie says that he's trying to sell her a new refrigerator. Here I'd put in a big song about ingratitude.
Karl complains that he can't buy anything, wages
are so low, times are tough , and Marie, like all
women, doesn't understand a thing about business.
And once again his newspaper isn't ready and waiting for him, his slippers either. He runs her down
in every way. Warns Richard never to get married,
women are nothing but trouble, they cost money,
they're never satisfied."
Dreadful turmoil and thronging between peaks
of ice and crags of stone, wind blows the snowdust.
" Now Richard has to answer him with a song, I
don 't know quite how yet, but it has to be very ambiguous, so that Karl understands it one way and
Marie another. I'll think of it later. It'll come to me
on its own."
The movie draws to a close: they plant their
little flag with a sammer and hickle, whatever, a
hammer and sickle on the summit. Name it Lenin
Peak. Another apotheosis like that and then DONE.
People get up from their seats, in the movie theatre
of course, and leave. Shuffiy milling about. Outside,
a dark night.
Says Merz: "We're not done yet and I don't
want to stop till we are, let's go to a cafe."
"I know a pastry shop right near here, before
Nettelbeck Street," says Ara. Okay, let's go. We
dawdle our way slowly over there. Thawdle dowly
over slere. It's bright. Table set. Order from the
waitress. Some cakes, or ice coffee. She has never
kissed a piece of ice cream. It turns out that a
piece of Kiss is an ice cream or HER. Mamma a
piece of ice cream that she has never kissed is
stand-ing there, a man. Merz has already pulled
out his notebook , his boatnook, he looks at Gal,
picks up his pencil up encil and waits to take
notehand. Stenonotes.
"You're in such a hurry."
"Yes, we need to finish it tonight. Tomorrow I
go back to Renovah."
"Fine with me. I'm thinking Marie leaves Karl sittingjmt how he's sitting. Where he's sitt1l1g. Marie
pllt'i her laundry away and disappear~ from the
scene. Okay, what next. I think we simply let Karl
fall asleep behind his new~paper after he sits there
silently for a whIle. Into the middle of his snoring
come\ the sound of the train, arriving now. We see
Richard ~tanding on the platform. But the end has
to be totally different, the escape goes wrong beClme Marie doesn't have the ~trength to follow her
imagination. She comes in with a <;uitcase, in her hat
and coat, <;ee~ Karl ~JttJng there without his ~lippers,
loob out the window, put~ down the suitca~e,
kneel, down, takes Karl's shoe<; offhis feet and puts
on his slipper,. Then the train whistles, Marie jumps
up, she sees Richard staring out a train window, a
long whistle: the train pulh out of the ~tation. Marie
cries, Rich:udl-falls to her knees. Karl wakes up,
looks, see~ nothing, and it ends with d duet about
the security and calm of married life. Anything else
would be too dramatic, like this it stays banal. Marie
can cry a little if you want. Apotheosis: empty train
platform; Karl , yawning, leads Marie into the other
room. No words needed, everyone knows it leads
to the bedroom."
Merz put~ hIS book in hi~ pocket. Gal says
ha~tily, "No, no, it's not done yet. Marie come, back
one more time, clo~es the curtains and the plush
drapes over the window with her face turned away.
Everything is d,lrk, when again there's a knock on
the door. Habit defeats desire after all. The whole
thing, I would say, should be half pantomime, half
melodrama. It shouldn't be anything like an opera.
That's something new."
Schwitters loob up. " Do you think that's
enough? [ mean I didn't want a drama, of course, I
wanted something that shows in the simplest possible way how banality works, what its laws are. But
RAOUL
HAUSMANN
65
still, isn't it a bit too simple like this? And anyway, it
doesn't seem like we have enough songs."
"The songs can be longer, sure, but I don't
think we can make it a melodrama. And especially
that Marie absolutely cannot follow her imagination, I think that's the way to go."
"You may be right. Anyway, we'll keep in
touch, I'll send you the outline so you can write
the songs. Just don't take too much time like you
always do."
Oh, Gal promises everything. Schwitters doesn't
want to stay up late so they pay and say goodbye. He
is staying somewhere by the Anhalter train station.
"I only have the room at night. until 8 A.M., in the
day it's rented to somebody else, the hotel's a real
fleabag." Chance to save money, always thrifty.
While Gal, the Little Lady, and Ara walk home,Ara
says: "An odd duck. I've never seen anyone like
him. He's very strange. Seems a bit dirty though."
Gal says: "That's nothing. Today he didn't pick
up all the old scraps from the street like he usually
does, or offer us chocolate or bonbons from the
same pocket he sticks all his garbage in. He's
not afraid of dirt. He reminds me of one of
Mynona's tales: a street sweeper sweeps all the dirt
into a pile, bends over, rummages up a plum out of
the dung heap and sticks it in his mouth. Oh, says a
woman passing by, what are you doing there, mister, it's so dirty, I feel sick. Eh, ma'am, ha'n't you
ever rummaged up a plum and ate it-anyway,
it's not dirt , it's all the sun. For Merz too, it's all
the sun."