SCHWITTERS OP HJERTØYA

'He must have felt lonely and isolated. He therefore always appreciated our friendship. Modest and unpretentious as he was, he told us little of his life as an artist in Germany and on the Continent. He never said anything in order to impress us "simple folks". We were friends and we became fond of him. We often visited him on Hjertøya, where we strolled along the beach and Schwitters went around like another Ash Lad, picking up all sorts of unusual things he found. We could not imagine what he was going to do with all this rubbish, but he seemed happy and content and we had a good time together. We then picked mushrooms for dinner, wich he insisted on making himself, since we were his guests. There were quite a lot of pine needles and moss in the dish when it was ready. One evening, he suddenly said: Shall I tell you some "grotesques"? We had heard of humoresques, but not grotesques. So we sat there and were entertained by a world artist, without having the slightest idea about it. But it was fantastic.'

Evy Falkenthal
(aangehaald in:)
SCHWITTERS IN NORWAY
ISBN 978-3-7757-2420-3