Best known for her work with lacquer, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) had a

Question

Best known for her work with lacquer,
Eileen Gray (1878-1976) had a fascinating and
multifaceted artistic career: she became a designer of
ornaments, furniture, interiors, and eventually homes.
  (5)   Though her attention shifted from smaller objects to
the very large, she always focused on details, even
details that were forever hidden. In Paris she studied
the Japanese tradition of lacquer, employing wood
surfaccs—e.g., bowls, screens, furniture—for the
  (10)   application of the clear, hard-drying liquid. It is a
time-consuming craft, then little known in Europe, that
superimposes layer upon layer, sometimes involving
twenty layers or more. The tradition of lacquer fit well
with her artistic sensibilities, as Gray eschewed the
  (15)   flowing. leafy lines of the Art Nouveau movement that
had flourished in Paris, preferring the austere beauty
of straight lines and simple forms juxtaposed.

In addition to requiring painstaking layering, the
wood used in lacquer work must be lacquered on both
  (20)   sides to prevent warping. This tension between
aesthetic demands and structural requirements, which
invests Gray's work in lacquer with an architectural
quality, is critical but not always apparent. a folding
screen or door panel reveals more of the artist's work
  (25)   than does a flat panel, which hides one side. in Gray's
early work she produced flat panets: later she made
door panels and even unfolded the panels into screens.
In a screen she made for the lobby of an apartment,
she fully realizes the implications of this expansion
  (30)   from two to three dimensions: the screen juts out
from a wall, and that wall visually disintegrates into panels
of lacquered bricks on the screen. The screen thus
becomes a painting, a piece of furniture, and an
architectural element all at once. She subsequently
  (35)   became heavily invested in the design of furniture,
often tailoring pieces to fit a particular interior
environment. She often used modem materials, such as
tubular steel, to create furniture and environments that,
though visually austere, meet their occupants’ needs.

(40)   Gray's work in both lacquer and interior design
prefigures her work as an architect. She did not believe
that one should divorce the structural design of the
exterior from the design of the interior. She designed
the interior elements of a house together with the
  (45)   more permanent structures, as an integrated whole.
Architecture for her was like work in lacquer: it
could only be achieved from the inside out. But in
architecture we discover the hidden layers; in fact we
inhabit them. We find storage cabinets in the recesses
  (50)   of a staircase, desks that are also cabinets, and tables
that are set on pivots to serve different functions in
different contexts. One such table can be positioned
either outside, on a balcony. of inside the house.
Gray placed a carpet underncath it in each location,
  (55)   as though to underscore that there is no important
distinction between exterior and interior.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?

(A) Eileen Giray’s artistic career, which ranged from interior to exterior design, was greatly influenced by her early work in lacquer, which molded her aesthetic sensibilities and caused her to develop independence as an artist, yet prevented her from gamering acclaim by critics of contemporary art.
(B) Ejileen Gray's artistic career, ranging from the design of ornaments and interiors to architectural design, was exemplified by her work in lacquer, from which she derived an aesthetic that downplayed the distinctions between interior and exterior and sought integral wholeness in a work of art.
(C) Eileen Gray, a multifaceted artist whose designs ranged from ornaments to houses, is best known for her use of modern materials such as tubular steel in the design of furniture and houses, which, while informed by an austerity of line, create humanistic environments that meet their occupants’ needs.
(D) Although Eileen Gray's antistic endeavors ranged from the design of ornaments and interiors to architectural design, her distinctive style, which is characterized by a sense of the hidden, is evident in all her work, making it readily identifiable.
(E) The fact that Eileen Gray's artistic career evolved from the design of ornaments and furniture to architecture ultimately derives from her eventual dissatisfaction with Japanese traditional art and its emphasis on integral wholeness.

2 
 2. Which one of the following comes closest to exemplifying the characteristics of Gray's work as described in the passage?

(A) an upholstered sofa with tasseled fringes and curved, wooden arms
(B) a coffee table decorated with intricate carvings of birds, trees, and grasses that are painted in bright colors
(C) a thin, stainless steel vase intended to resemble the omate flowers it will hold
(D) a round, wooden picture frame inlaid with glass beads, pearls, and gracefully cut pieces of colorful shells
(E) a metal chair whose simple shape is adapted to fit the human form

3 
 3. The passage provides information that most strongly supports which one of the following assertions?

(A) Gray's reputation rests primarily on the range of styles and media in which she worked, rather than on her work in any particular medium. 
(B) Gray personally constructed most of the interior furnishings that she designed. 
(C) In Paris in Gray's time, wood was generally considered an inappropriate medium for visual art. 
(D) Few of Gray's works in lacquer were intended for public viewing. 
(E) Much of Gray's later work was functional as well as ornamental.

4 
 4. Information in the passage most helps to answer which one of the following questions?

(A) When did the tradition of lacquer first become known in Europe? 
(B) What types of wood are usually considered best for use in traditional Japanese lacquer work? 
(C) Were the artistic motifs of traditional lacquer work similar to those that were typical of An Nouveau?
(D) Did Gray allow the style of her architecture to be informed by the landscape that surrounded the building site?
(E) What is a material that Gray used both structurally for its superior strength and decoratively for its visual interaction with another material?

5 
 5. Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the author's attitude toward Gray's artistic accomplishments?

(A) appreciation of the fact that her aesthetic philosophy, as well as the materials she used and the range of her work, sets her work apart from that of many of her contemporaries 
(B) admiration for her artistic independence and refusal to conform to contemporary art trends, even though such refusal positioned her on the periphery of the art world 
(C) appreciation for the interpretation of Japanese tradition in her work, by which she made a unique contribution to modern architectural design while remaining faithful to Japanese architectural traditions 
(D) admiration for the rapid development in her career, from the production of smaller works. such as ornaments, to large structures, like houses, that ensured her reputation as an avant-garde artist 
(E) appreciation for her help in revolutionizing the field of structural design through her use of traditional and modern materials in her furniture creations and architectural work

6 
 6. The passage most strongly suggests that which one of the following principles was used by Gray in her work?

(A) Traditional lacquering techniques can be applied to nontraditional materials, such as brick and steel. with artistically effective results. 
(B) nature and placement of a dwelling's interior features can be essential factors in determining the overall structural design of the dwelling. 
(C) Traditional ornamental techniques that are usually applied to small items are especially suitable for use on large structural elements of buildings. 
(D) Excellent artistic effects can be achieved through the juxtaposition of visually austere elements with gracefully ornate elements of design. 
(E) The superficial visual aspects of a building's decor can give evidence of the materials that have been used in its basic, unseen structural components.

7 
 7. The passage most strongly suggests that the author would agree with which one of the following statements about Gray's architectural work?

(A) It was considered by other architects of her time to be iconoclastic and inconsistent with sound principles of structural design. 
(B) Her involvement in it was marked by a radical shift in her attitude toward the relation between the expressive and functional aspects of her work. 
(C) The public is less knowledgeable about it than about at least some of her other work.
(D) It has been less controversial among recent critics and scholars than has at least some of her work in interior design.
(E) Unlike her work in lacquer, it was not influenced by an established tradition of Asian art.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

5. Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the author's attitude toward Gray's artistic accomplishments?

Explanation

This question asks for the author’s attitude toward Gray’s artistic accomplishments. Rely on the Bottom Line to choose the answer. Be wary of answer choices that contradict the Bottom Line or that are a poor match for the Bottom Line.

A.  Yes.   This answer choice matches the Bottom Line: her work ranged in materials and in scope, and she eschewed contemporary movements  (lines 13–17).

B. No.  The passage does not suggest that she was “on the periphery of the art world.”

C. No.  The passage states that she worked in the Japanese tradition of lacquer  (lines 7–10) , but this is not an architectural tradition.

D. No.  The passage does not emphasize the speed of her evolution from small to large, nor does it describe her as avant-garde.

E. No.  The passage does not suggest that she revolutionized structural design.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

7. The passage most strongly suggests that the author would agree with which one of the following statements about Gray's architectural work?

Explanation

This question asks which answer choice the author would agree with regarding Gray’s architectural work. Evaluate each answer choice against the passage to find support. Be wary of answer choices that introduce new ideas, that contradict the passage, or that are too extreme.

A. No.  The passage does not discuss the opinions of other architects of her time.

B. No.  The passage states that her work in lacquer and interior design prefigures her work as an architect  (lines 40–41) , so her evolution is natural, not a  “radical shift.”

C.  Yes.    Line 1  states that she was best known for her work in lacquer, so  “at least some of her other work”  is less well known.

D. No.  The passage does not discuss how controversial any of her work was.

E. No.  The influence for her architectural work is not discussed. Moreover, the passage states that her own work in lacquer, which was definitely influenced by an established tradition of Asian art  (lines 7–10) , prefigured her architectural work, so it is reasonable to say that her architectural work was so influenced, even if indirectly.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

6. The passage most strongly suggests that which one of the following principles was used by Gray in her work?

Explanation

This question asks which answer choice describes a principle that was used in Gray’s work. Evaluate each answer choice against the passage to find support. Be wary of answer choices that introduce new ideas, that contradict the passage, or that are too extreme.

A. No.  The passage discusses lacquering wood only.

B.  Yes.   The final paragraph discusses the relationship between the interior and exterior: she believes that they should be designed together as an integrated whole  (lines 43–45).

C. No.  The passage suggests that her artistic style evolved, not that she merely applied identical techniques to increasingly larger objects.

D. No. Lines 16–17  state that she prefers straight lines and the juxtaposition of simple forms.

E. No.  The passage states that the interior and exterior should be designed together as an integrated whole  (lines 43–45) , but this does not suggest that one can determine hidden materials by looking at the visible materials.

Answer: B

rome2534 · Answer

Sajjad1994 
Hi, I got the answers correct for q2 and q3, But im not sure if i got them correct for the right reasons.
2. Which one of the following comes closest to exemplifying the characteristics of Gray's work as described in the passage?

(A) an upholstered sofa with tasseled fringes and curved, wooden arms
(B) a coffee table decorated with intricate carvings of birds, trees, and grasses that arc painted in bright colors
(C) a thin, stainless steel vase intended to resemble the omate flowers it will hold
(D) a round, wooden picture frame inlaid with glass beads, pearls, and gracefully cut pieces of colorful shells
(E) a metal chair whose simple shape ts adapted to fit tye human form

The reasons was:
She subsequently
(35) became heavily invested in the design of furniture,
often tailoring pieces to fit a particular interior
environment. She often used modem materials, such as
tubular steel, to create furniture and environments that,
though visually austere, meet their occupants’ needs.

Since she was tailoring pieces to fit a particular interior, which also meet needs, I assumed designing a chair to fit the human form was appropriate. Is my reasoning correct?

3. The passage provides information that most strongly supports which one of the following assertions?

(A) Gray's reputation rests primarily on the range of styles and media in which she worked, rather than on her work in any particular medium.
(B) Gray personally constructed most of the interior furnishings that she designed.
(C) In Paris in Gray's time, wood was generally considered an inappropriate medium for visual art.
(D) Few of Gray's works in lacquer were intended for public viewing.
(E) Much of Gray's later work was functional as well as ornamental.

Since the word much could include all or many, and also because the author mentions that  though visually austere, meet their occupants’ needs. , option E is correct.

Could please let me know if my reasons for choosing these options are correct, if not, could you please let me know the right reasons.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Question 2

Return to the passage to find characteristics of her work: she prefers straight lines and the juxtaposition of simple forms (lines 16–17), she produces work that has hidden details (28–32), she tailors furniture to fit its environment and meet its occupants’ needs (lines 34–39), and she believes interior and exterior design should not be distinct (lines 41–43). Evaluate each answer choice against these characteristics. Be wary of answer choices that introduce new ideas, that contradict the passage, or that are too extreme.

Question 3

This question asks which answer choice is supported by the ideas of tone of the passage. Evaluate each answer choice against the passage to find support. Be wary of answer choices that introduce new ideas, that contradict the passage, or that are too extreme.

twinkle2311 · Answer

gmatt1476 ,  Sajjad1994 
This passage definitely felt more like a 705+ level RC to me and was great practice for a hard passage. Curious why it's marked as 505–555 (Easy).

Bunuel · Answer

The difficulty level of a question on the site is determined automatically after sufficient attempts, based on various parameters from users' attempts, such as the percentage of correct answers and the time taken to answer. Therefore, this is a 505-555 level question based on our statistics. For RC passages, the difficulty level is the average of the difficulties of all questions, so for this question, it's the average of the difficulties of all 7 questions.

twinkle2311 · Answer

Thanks for explaining! That's interesting.
I think what confused me is that 5 of the 7 questions are rated 85–95% difficulty, and most of them have only around 16–37% correct rates despite 300–400+ attempts. That's what made the overall set feel much harder than a typical 505–555 RC to me.

Best known for her work with lacquer, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) had a

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Best known for her work with lacquer, Eileen Gray (1878-1976) had a

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