Unorthodox, untraditional leaders

• Ahead of its time
• Like the work spelled out by the shaded letters
• Like innovative art
• Group on the cutting edge
• Like the work spelled out by the circled letters
• Daringly unconventional
• Ahead of the times
• Eye cover for the naive?

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. (alternative form of avant-garde English)