Sabato Rodia, “Nuestro Pueblo (Watts Towers),” 1921-1954, mixed media

The visionary “sailing ship” of 17 lacy towers, the tallest reaching almost 100 feet into the sky, is one of the earliest masterpieces of 20th century American art and the first to be made in Los Angeles. Sabato Rodia, a working-class immigrant untrained in art, encrusted the towers with bits of seashells, broken soda bottles and ceramic shards. Castoffs become consecrations.