Dan Flavin’s alternate diagonals of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd), an 8-

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 306, Date : 02-Sep-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

Dan Flavin’s alternate diagonals of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd), an 8-foot-long diagonal beam of light set at a 45-degree angle, is a colorful sculpture of light that is visually arresting, even from across the room. As one approaches the work, it is difficult not to become almost blinded by the intensity of the light and the vivacity of the colors. Though it may strike one as garish on first glance, a more lengthy perusal reveals a delicate interplay between the red and yellow beams, giving the work a visual richness. Alternate diagonals was made by Flavin in response to one of his own previous works, the diagonal of May 25, 1963 (to Constantin Brancusi). His first piece composed solely of light, the diagonal of May 25, 1963 was also an 8-foot-long fluorescent light sculpture (though Flavin never liked to call them sculptures—he referred to them as “situations”) hung at a 45-degree angle, and also included a yellow fluorescent light tube. Alternate diagonals seems almost more of an evolution of the former work than a response to it, but regardless of the exact nature of the intended interplay between the two, it is important to frame alternate diagonals as a companion work.
 
Alternate diagonals known as a ready-made, a work of art composed entirely of objects that anyone could find and put together as the artist has. This is precisely what is so intriguing about the work—it toys with the boundaries of what we can define as a ready-made in contemporary art and, perhaps, within the field of art production itself. It forces a spectrum to be employed instead of a black-and-white categorization of the ready-made—a spectrum stretching between the “pure” ready-made (any work that essentially could be transferred straight from anyone’s garage to a gallery, such as Duchamp’s Bottle Rack), all the way to a contemporary two-dimensional work where the artist’s canvas and paints werepurchased from an art supply store in an infinitely more manipulated but still semi-“readymade” fashion. Flavin’s piece, it seems, is situated somewhere in the center of such a spectrum, and raises the question of where the “ready” ends and the “made” begins.   1 
 C 
 1. The main point of the passage is to

(A) assert the superiority of ready-made art
(B) decry the broadening of the definition of art
(C) discuss a work in context and its effect on the discipline
(D) explain the relationship between two works of art
(E) praise an artist and his creations

2 
 D 
 2. According to the passage, both “diagonal” works could best be described as

(A) using red and yellow light
(B) initially striking the viewer as garish
(C) toying with boundaries of art
(D) running through the plane at a particular slope
(E) identical in concept

3 
 A 
 3. The author’s tone could best be described as

(A) admiring and supportive
(B) enthusiastic and fawning
(C) respectful and distant
(D) obligatory and unenthused
(E) erudite and objective

4 
 C 
 4. The passage implies which of the following?

(A) Conventional two-dimensional work is a thing of the past.
(B) Flavin is one of the most important artists of his time.
(C) Bottle Rack has very little artistic manipulation.
(D) Flavin disliked the word “sculpture” because of the Renaissance association.
(E) The best art work is in the center of the artistic spectrum of art production.

53/1830

Alpha14 · Answer

SajjadAhmad   workout   GMATNinja   GMATNinja Two can u pls explain Why E is wrong in Ques 2 ?

Also Pls Give insights how to tackle Tone Question as in Q3 ?

Q4 - Got stuck with option E , but why is C Correct ?

GMATNinjaTwo

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. According to the passage, both “diagonal” works could best be described as

Difficulty Level:   700-750

Explanation

Both works are said to be set at 45-degree angles (thus,  “at a particular slope,”  which incidentally would happen to be 1 or –1).

Choices (A), (B), and (C)  are only explicitly mentioned in connection with alternate diagonals.

Choice (E)  is incorrect, as the concept of the works is not discussed; furthermore, the author writes  “Alternate diagonals seems almost more of an evolution of the former work than a response to it.”  If the second work is an  “evolution,”  the two works cannot be  “identical.”

Answer: D

4. The passage implies which of the following?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

Choice (C)  must be true as the author cites Bottle Rack as an example of the extreme end of the ready-made spectrum, and contrasts it with a type of  “infinitely more manipulated”  work.

As for choice (A) , the passage only mentions such conventional work in passing and does not predict its future. The passage does not rank Flavin, as choice  (B)  suggests, nor does it explain why he disliked the word  “sculpture”  for his works, as choice  (D)  does. Similarly, the passage only suggests that Flavin’s work is in the center, not that such location is a virtue—the  “best art work,”  as in choice  (E).

Answer: C

Hope it helps

Alpha14 · Answer

SajjadAhmad  Thanks. Would request you to guide on Q3

omavsp · Answer

Hi,

could someone explain why A and not B in Q3 please?

Thanks

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello Alpha14

Tone questions should be solved by considering the passage as a whole, take note of the language and try to analyse how author continue to writing the passage till end. Try to note whether author has used soft words or strong language, whether he or she is biased to some detail, whether he or she admiring or criticizing someone, Whether author is happy or sad, whether author is cautious or careless and so on. Normally these type of questions falls under 700-level category because we have to analyze the complete piece of writing.

Coming to the question #3

Official Explanation

3. The author’s tone could best be described as

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

The passage teems with positive words— “visually arresting,”   “vivacity,” “intriguing,”  to name just a few—and this indicates the author is biased in favor of the works. Thus, the neutral aspect of choices  (C), (D), and (E)  is incorrect. As for choice  (B) ,  “fawning”  has a negative connotation.

Answer: A

Does this all make sense?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Please see this post https://gmatclub.com/forum/dan-flavin-s ... l#p2358702 Thanks

harivars · Answer

why not option "E" for question number 1
the passage is praising an artist and his creation(alternate diagonals)

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The main point of the passage is to

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

After describing Flavin’s work, the author compares it to another work in the second paragraph, then goes on to discuss its effect on the definitions of a type of art.  Choice (A)  is a distortion as  “superiority”  is not mentioned.

Choice (B) , if anything, is backwards, as the author seems to approve of the broadening.

Choices (D)  and   (E)  ignore the significant part of the passage that discusses the broadening of definitions.

Answer: C

Hope it helps

VerbalBot · Answer

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Dan Flavin’s alternate diagonals of March 2, 1964 (to Don Judd), an 8-

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