OK besides this below and DEVO coming out of the Kent State massacre, what are other facts you have about the evolution of art / music /etc that wouldn't be obvious if you didn't know but, retroactively, explain and/or illuminate a LOT ?
Reminds me of how almost all the French dadaists and surrealists were WWI veterans of the trenches seriously exploring alternatives to conventional thought and language.
Chinese blue and white porcelain was developed for export to Western Asia and initially catered to an Islamic artistic taste, hence its visual complexity, vegetal/floral patterns, and color palette.
