ABSTRACT
All mosaic makers are trained to express and compress. They capture, reflect, absorb, splinter all the light, opening up multiple meanings. The tiny pieces, called tesserae, in great mosaics were made of enamel, glass, marble, precious stones, mother of pearl—each with a unique shape and reflection. Searching for a way to encompass centuries of popular culture, and to allow the freedom to move quickly from era to era, subject to subject, the author decided to follow the lead of mosaic makers. “Mosaic” is becoming a companion term for the buzzword “di-versity.” Popular culture has many facets, like a diamond, and can be subversive and explosive. In the late twentieth century there were so many dramatic inventions, extensions, and transformations that no single “tag” for the age occurred. Computers, satellites, wonder drugs, spaceprobes, social changes involving gender, race, ethnicity, diet, environment, and a host of other things vied for attention.
