The preeminent art critic of Victorian England, John Ruskin elevated a personal and sentimental response to art into a manifesto against modernity. Like the poet Wordsworth, whom he greatly admired, Ruskin found in nature the stimulus to an untapped repository of emotion. He admired art that reflecte

Classical, Sincere, Sophisticated, Witty

If Walter Ruttman had not been killed while making a newsreel on the frontlines of World War II, the history of film might have turned out differently. He made breathtakingly beautiful movies -- both animated and shot --that radically departed from the traditional narratives of contemporaries like Ch

Collage, Dense, German expressionist film, Perceptual, Pioneering, Rhythmic, Sophisticated

A dense reticulum of ideas, which unravels into a swarm of images and a cacophony of sounds but nevertheless maintains a fluid coherence: such is the world of Wallace Stevens, Modernist poet par excellence, a man of stoic temperament and intimidating intelligence. With a daunting arsenal of unfamilia

Composed, Contemplative, Dense, Modernist poetry, Quirky, Smart, Sophisticated

It's a little bit disconcerting when you realize that you actually like Stereolab. Have you really become so soft that you find this lush, easy-listening music pleasant -- and, even worse, interesting? Is something wrong with you? Most likely, you simply have a Baroque sensibility. For behind the su

Euphoric, Layered, Lush, Rhythmic, Smarty arty pop, Social revolution, Sophisticated