A lot of the aesthetics of The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum is a convergence of a few things, specifically the milieu that produced the Columbian World Exposition of 1893 and innovations in the use of colored lights on window displays in shops. Baum was a window-dresser before he was an author.
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 ?
Piggybacking onto this, one of the folks who raved about the 1893 world's fair a lot was Walt Disney's father, who worked construction on it. In retrospect, Disneyland is basically a perpetual version of a world's fair, complete with futurist exhibits and food from around the world.
I’m not sure if there are long-form things about this, but Baum did write a book about window dressing, and this is also a great place to start. It’s neat and quick! daily.jstor.org/grand-illusi...
