Kurt Schwitters (1887 - 1948) German artist that worked in Dada, Constructivism, Surrealism, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture, graphic design, typography, and what came to be known as installation art. 

Out of parsimony I took whatever I found, because we were now a poor country. One can even shout out through refuse, and this is what I did, nailing and gluing it together … it was a prayer about the victorious end of war, victorious as once again peace had won in the end; everything had broken down in any case and new things had to be made out of fragments.  [via]

I am really interested in collecting piles of materials around me that I can appropriate/re-appropriate. By sorting the pile and giving myself an assignment of using what’s available and then problem solving to a conclusion, some sort of assemblage. I used to do this when creating environments for deejaying and think it would be a valuable exercise to do now. (Then, why am I still sitting at my computer?)