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I am offering an exclusively American list to counterbalance the “no man (or woman) can be a prophet in their own country” syndrome. And a list where the oldest work was created less than 50 years ago to counteract the “all the masterpieces are in museums” syndrome. The list is also meant to react against all the artistic cults worshipping at the altars of visual gorgeousness, acoustic virtuosity, and narrative gigantism. These works embrace an aesthetic of imperfection – their truths are small, rough, and provisional. That is what qualifies them as the most important works of our present historical moment: they blaze a trail into the future.