It took a direct immersion in the politics of the Mexican Revolution to give Diego Rivera's art the cause and the audience it needed. Commissioned by the new government to execute huge public murals, Rivera created a new socialist iconography from a mixture of Renaissance, academic, Cubist, and indig

Bright, Composed, Muralists, Political, Round, Social realism, Social revolution

Lina Bo Bardi spent her childhood playing in the shadows of the basilica of St. Peter's. As an adult, she undertook a classical architectural training at Rome University and later went to work for the offices of the famed Gio Ponti in Milan. Applying herself to numerous disciplines -- including house

Functional, Italian rationalism, Modernist architecture, Organic, Organicism, Political, Round

While Michelangelo sought to free human forms from stone, British sculptor Henry Moore left his abstract figures an integral part of the materials from which he hewed them. His sculptures seem to be the product of natural forces, as if water and wind erosion created the negative spaces and hollows. I

Modern sculpture, Mythic, Round, Spiritual, Voluminous

The group known as Tortoise crawled through the caverns of Chicago's rock underground during the early 1990s, collecting people who loved odd, oozy noises. The band's own sound gelled when synth-man John Herndon and bassist Doug McCombs collaborated on an experimental project called Mosquito. Soon, J

Ethereal, Euphoric, Post-rock, Rhythmic, Round, Serene, Tranquil