African American painter Sam Gilliam (b. 1933) is internationally reco

Question

African American painter Sam Gilliam (b. 1933)
is internationally recognized as one of the foremost
painters associated with the Washington Color School,
a group of Color Field style painters practicing in
  (5)   Washington, D.C. during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Color Field style was an important development
in abstract art that emerged after the rise of abstract
expressionism. It evolved from complex and minimally
representational abstractions in the 1950s to totally
  (10)   nonrepresentational, simplified works of bright colors
in the 1960s.

Gilliam’s participation in the Color Field movement
was motivated in part by his reaction to the art of his
African American contemporaries, much of which was
  (15)   strictly representational and was intended to convey
explicit political statements. Gilliam found their
approach to be aesthetically conservative: the message
was unmistakable, he felt, and there was little room
for the expression of subtlety or ambiguity or, more
  (20)   importantly, the exploration of new artistic territory
through experimentation and innovation. For example,
one of his contemporaries worked with collage,
assembling disparate bits of images from popular
magazines into loosely structured compositions that
  (25)   depicted the period’s political issues—themes such as
urban life, the rural South, and African American
music. Though such art was quite popular with the
general public, Gilliam was impatient with its
straightforward, literal approach to representation.
  (30)   In its place he sought an artistic form that was more
expressive than a painted figure or a political slogan,
more evocative of the complexity of human experience
in general, and of the African American experience in
particular. In this he represented a view that was then
  (35)   rare among African American artists.

Gilliam’s highly experimental paintings
epitomized his refusal to conform to the public’s
expectation that African American artists produce
explicitly political art. His early experiments included
  (40)   pouring paint onto stained canvases and folding
canvases over onto themselves. Then around 1965
Gilliam became the first painter to introduce the idea
of the unsupported canvas. Partially inspired by the
sight of neighbors hanging laundry on clotheslines,
  (45)   Gilliam began to drape huge pieces of loose canvas
along floors and fold them up and down walls, even
suspending them from ceilings, giving them a third
dimension and therefore a sculptural quality. These
efforts demonstrate a sensitivity to the texture of daily
  (50)   experience, as well as the ability to generate tension
by juxtaposing conceptual opposites—such as surface
and depth or chaos and control—to form a cohesive
whole. In this way, Gilliam helped advance the
notion that the deepest, hardest-to-capture emotions
  (55)   and tensions of being African American could not
be represented directly, but were expressed more
effectively through the creation of moods that
would allow these emotions and tensions to be felt
by all audiences.    1 
 1. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with

(A) describing the motivation behind and nature of an artist’s work
(B) describing the political themes that permeate an artist’s work
(C) describing the evolution of an artist’s style over a period of time
(D) demonstrating that a certain artist’s views were rare among African American artists
(E) demonstrating that a certain artist was able to transcend his technical limitations

2 
 2. Which one of the following would come closest to exemplifying the characteristics of Gilliam’s work as described in the passage?

(A) a brightly colored painting carefully portraying a man dressed in work clothes and holding a shovel in his hands
(B) a large, wrinkled canvas painted with soft, blended colors and overlaid with glued-on newspaper photographs depicting war scenes
(C) a painted abstract caricature of a group of jazz musicians waiting to perform
(D) a long unframed canvas painted with images of the sea and clouds and hung from a balcony to simulate the unfurling of sails
(E) a folded and crumpled canvas with many layers of colorful dripped and splashed paint interwoven with one another

3 
 3. The author mentions a collage artist in the second paragraph primarily to

(A) exemplify the style of art of the Washington Color School
(B) point out the cause of the animosity between representational artists and abstract artists
(C) establish that representational art was more popular with the general public than abstract art was
(D) illustrate the kind of art that Gilliam was reacting against
(E) show why Gilliam’s art was primarily concerned with political issues

4 
 4. The passage most strongly suggests that Gilliam’s attitude toward the strictly representational art of his contemporaries is which one of the following?

(A) derisive condescension
(B) open dissatisfaction
(C) whimsical dismissal
(D) careful neutrality
(E) mild approval

5 
 5. The passage says all of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Draping and folding canvases gives them a sculptural quality.
(B) Gilliam refused to satisfy the public’s expectations concerning what African American art ought to address.
(C) Gilliam’s views on explicitly political art were rare among African American artists.
(D) The Color Field style involved experimentation more than Gilliam believed the art of his African American contemporaries did.
(E) Everyday images such as laundry hanging out to dry are most likely to give artists great inspiration.

6 
 6. The passage suggests that Gilliam would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) Artists need not be concerned with aesthetic restrictions of any sort.
(B) The images portrayed in paintings, whether representational or not, should be inspired by real-life images.
(C) Artists ought to produce art that addresses the political issues of the period.
(D) The Color Field style offers artists effective ways to express the complexity of human experience.
(E) The public’s expectations concerning what kind of art a certain group of artists produces should be a factor in that artist’s work.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

Use your Bottom Line of the passage to help you to evaluate the choices. The correct answer will describe the main purpose of the passage.

A.  Yes.   The first paragraph introduces Gilliam, the second paragraph discusses his motivation, and the third paragraph describes his work.

B. No.  While the passage mentions political themes in art, it is not the primary focus.

C. No.  The passage discusses one change in Gilliam’s work, the use of unsupported canvases starting in 1965, but this is only a small portion of the passage.

D. No.  Beware of deceptive language. At the end of the second paragraph, the passage mentions that Gilliam’s view was rare among African American artists; however, this is only a small portion of the passage.

E. No.  The passage does not discuss any technical limitations.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

6. The passage suggests that Gilliam would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The correct answer will be the statement that is best supported by evidence within the passage text.

A. No.  This answer choice is too extreme. While Gilliam found other artists’ approach to be too aesthetically conservative, he does not go so far as to say there are no restrictions.

B. No.  This is not mentioned in the passage. The author discusses that Gilliam helped advance the notion that the African American experience was best expressed through the creation of moods.

C. No.  This is not supported by the passage. There is no support for the idea that Gilliam thought artists ought to produce art that addressed particular themes and Gilliam himself “refused to conform” to production of explicitly political art.

D.  Yes.   According to the first paragraph, Gilliam was a Color Field–style painter. According to the second paragraph, he sought to make his art more evocative of the complexity of the human experience.

E. No.  The third paragraph states that Gilliam refused to conform to the public’s expectations.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. The passage says all of the following EXCEPT:

Four answer choices will be explicitly supported by the passage and the credited response will not.

A. No.  This is explicitly supported by  lines 45–48.

B. No.  This is explicitly supported by  lines 36–39.

C. No.  This is explicitly supported by  lines 34–35.

D. No.  This is explicitly supported by  lines 12–16.

E.  Yes.   The passage does not discuss what artists are most likely to be inspired by.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. The author mentions a collage artist in the second paragraph primarily to

Difficulty Level:   600-650

Explanation

The question is asking about the purpose of bringing up the collage artist. The author discusses that Gilliam found his contemporaries’ approach to be too conservative and gives the artist working with collage as an example of art that Gilliam was impatient with because of its straightforward, literal representation.

A. No.  Gilliam was associated with the Washington Color School, but there’s no indication that the collage artist was.

B. No.  This answer choice is extreme and unsupported. While Gilliam was  “impatient”  with other art, there is nothing to support the idea of animosity.

C. No.  The second paragraph mentions that representational art was popular, but the collage art is an example of what Gilliam was frustrated with.

D.  Yes.   The second paragraph says that Gilliam found his contemporaries’ art to be too aesthetically conservative and then introduces the collage art with  “for example.”

E. No.  The passage does not claim that Gilliam’s art was primarily political; rather it states that he sought to be more evocative of the complexity of the human experience and the African American experience.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. Which one of the following would come closest to exemplifying the characteristics of Gilliam’s work as described in the passage?

Difficulty Level:   650-700

Explanation

The question asks for something that will match the description of Gilliam’s work in the third paragraph. The correct answer should mention an unsupported canvas or a sculptural quality.

A. No.  This does not match the description of Gilliam’s work in the third paragraph. His contemporaries were the ones painting straightforward representational work.

B. No.  While Gilliam’s work may have involved a large, wrinkled canvas, he painted in the Color Field style, which featured bright colors.

C. No.  There is no mention of caricature in the description of Gilliam’s work.

D. No.  While Gilliam’s work may have involved a long unframed canvas, it evoked the African American experience rather than nature.

E.  Yes.   The third paragraph explicitly describes Gilliam folding canvases and giving his paintings a sculptural quality.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. The passage most strongly suggests that Gilliam’s attitude toward the strictly representational art of his contemporaries is which one of the following?

Difficulty Level:   600-650

Explanation

The question is asking how Gilliam feels about the strictly representational art of his contemporaries. The correct answer will indicate that he did not like it, as indicated by statements in the second paragraph.

A. No.  While Gilliam did not like his contemporaries’ art, this answer choice is too negative. The passage does not support an extreme tone like  “condescension.”

B.  Yes.   In the second paragraph, the author says that Gilliam was  “impatient”  with the strictly representational art.

C. No.  There is nothing in the passage to support  “whimsical” ; it is too positive.

D. No.  The author’s description of Gilliam’s impatience does not support neutrality.

E. No.  The author’s description of Gilliam’s impatience does not support approval.

Answer: B

Raman109 · Answer

6. The passage suggests that Gilliam would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) Artists need not be concerned with aesthetic restrictions of any sort. - He himself was playing within the restrictions of "Color Field style." His participation in the Color Field movement and his reaction to his contemporaries' work indicate that while he sought new methods of expression, he was still engaging with and responding to existing artistic forms and styles. This is contrary to the idea that artists should disregard all aesthetic restrictions, as suggested by option (A).
(D) The Color Field style offers artists effective ways to express the complexity of human experience. - ok. "human experience" is not broad as the exact same word is mentioned in the passage.

Navneet290 · Answer

For Q5, focusing on just one point gives the answer. The point is just because one artist followed it and it worked for him, we should not generalize it by saying "artists are most likely to be inspired by".

Hope it helps.

Hope it helps.

VerbalBot · Answer

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African American painter Sam Gilliam (b. 1933) is internationally reco

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African American painter Sam Gilliam (b. 1933) is internationally reco

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