The leading poet of Russian Revolution of 1917 and of the early Soviet period, one of the founders of Russian Futurism movement. Originally Mayakovsky planned to become an artist. His early poems have strong painterly visions and sequences in many of his works recall film techniques. Mayakovsky was d

Angry, Ecstatic, Erotic, Futurism, Melancholy, Monumental, Moody, Playful, Political, Profane, Rebel, Rough, Sexy

Is the man in Fang Lijun's "Series II: No 2" (1992) screaming or yawning? Is this extreme anguish or utter boredom? And what is his relation to the group of almost identical men standing in the distance behind him? Is he just one guy in a crowd of undifferentiated guys, or is he asserting his individ

Absurd, Angry, Cartoonish, Cynical realism, Funny, Visceral

Among the foremost members of the Frankfurt School, Theodor Adorno launched a tirade against the modern world. With an arsenal of unsupported assertions strung together without obvious connecting elements, Adorno set out to critique what he called the "phantasmagoria" of commodity consumption. A c

Angry, Dark, Depressive, Dystopic, Frankfurt school, Intense, Marxism/ideology critique, Severe

The New York-based Guerrilla Girls (self-styled "conscience of the art world") use humor, renegade tactics, and the element of surprise to spread their indictment of sexism and racism in both the art world and the culture at large. Oh yes, and they wear scary gorilla masks. Founded in 1985, they have

Angry, Bad girl art, Enigmatic, Feminist, In-your-face, Media art, Political, Rebel, Women's literature