When speaking of Romare Bearden, one is tempted to say, "A great Black

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 345, Date : 22-Sep-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

When speaking of Romare Bearden, one is tempted to say, "A great Black American artist." The subject matter of Bearden's collages is certainly Black. Portrayals of the folk of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, whom he remembers from early childhood, of the jazz musicians and tenement roofs of his Harlem days, of Pittsburgh steelworkers, and his reconstruction of classical Greek myths in the guise of the ancient Black kingdom of Benin, attest to this. In natural harmony with this choice of subject matter are the social sensibilities of the artist, who remains active today with the Cinque Gallery in Manhattan, which he helped found and which is devoted to showing the work of minority artists.

Then why not call Bearden a Black American artist? Because ultimately this categorization is too narrow. "What stands up in the end is structure," Bearden says. "What I try to do is amplify. If I were just creating a picture of a farm woman from back home, it would have meaning to her and people there. But art amplifies itself to something universal."

Then why not call Bearden a Black American artist? Because ultimately this categorization is too narrow. "What stands up in the end is structure," Bearden says. "What I try to do is amplify. If I were just creating a picture of a farm woman from back home, it would have meaning to her and people there. But art amplifies itself to something universal."   1 
 E 
 1. According to the passage, all of the following are depicted in Bearden's collages EXCEPT:

A.workers in Pittsburgh's steel mills
B.scenes set in the ancient kingdom of Benin
C.people Bearden knew as a child
D.the jazz musicians of the Harlem Bearden used to know
E.traditional representations of the classical heroes of Greek mythology

2 
 C 
 2. The author suggests that Bearden should not be called a Black American artist because

A.there are many collages by Bearden in which the subject matter is not Black
B.Bearden's work reflects the Black American experience in a highly individual style
C.through the structure of Bearden's art his Black subjects come to represent all of humankind
D.Bearden's true significance lies not so much in his own work as in his efforts to help other minority artists
E.much of Bearden's work uses the ancient Black kingdom of Benin for its setting

3 
 A 
 3. Bearden's social sensibilities and the subject matter of his collages are mentioned by the author in order to explain

A.why one might be tempted to call Bearden a Black American artist
B.why Bearden cannot be readily categorized
C.why Bearden's appeal is thought by many to be ultimately universal
D.how deeply an artist's artistic creations are influenced by he artist's social conscience
E.what makes Bearden unique among contemporary Black American artists

4 
 C 
 4. The author of the passage is chiefly concerned with

A.discussing Bearden's philosophy of art
B.acknowledging Bearden's success in giving artistic expression to the Black American experience
C.assessing the significance of the ethnic element in Bearden's work
D.pointing out Bearden's helpfulness to other minority artists
E.racing Bearden's progress toward artistic maturity.

Manas1212 · Accepted Answer

1. According to the passage, all of the following are depicted in Bearden's collages EXCEPT

(A) workers in Pittsburgh's steel mills 
(B) scenes set in the ancient kingdom of Benin 
(C) people Bearden knew as a child 
(D) traditional representations of the classical heroes of Greek mythology 
(E) the jazz musicians of the Harlem Bearden used to know

This question is a little tricky. We can find direct evidence in the passage for option A,C and E.So let's eliminate them.That leaves us with B and D.

From the passage  his reconstruction of classical Greek myths in the guise of the ancient Black kingdom of Benin  , that means he portrayed Black kingdom of Benin to refer classical greek myth..that is his reconstruction. So D is our go to option.

2) The author suggests that Bearden should not be called a Black American artist because

(A) there are many collages by Bearden in which the subject matter is not Black 
(B) Bearden's work reflects the Black American experience in a highly individual style 
(C)  through the structure of Bearden's art his Black subjects come to represent all of humankind  
(D) Bearden's true significance lies not so much in his own work as in his efforts to help other minority artists 
(E) much of Bearden's work uses the ancient Black kingdom of Benin for its setting

Its pretty straight forward. It's basically the main point of Bearden who wants to convey something that is universal as stated in last sentence of the passage.

3. Bearden's social sensibilities and the subject matter of his collages are mentioned by the author in order to explain

(A) why one might be tempted to call Bearden a Black American artist 
(B) why Bearden cannot be readily categorized 
(C) why Bearden's appeal is thought by many to be ultimately universal 
(D) how deeply an artist's artistic creations are influenced by the artist's social conscience (It is mentioned in the passage that his conscience could be a reason of the reflection of his work but the author has mentioned as a reason to prove that why should not we categorize Bearden as a Black American Artist.)
(E) what makes Bearden unique among contemporary Black American artists (he has not mentioned about any other artist for a comparison)

Let us understand the structure of the passage..  The author starts with giving us points why should not we categorize Bearden as a Black American Artist given relevant evidences , then goes on to answer because it's too narrow and then reflects the point of view of Bearden himself.
So our answer is A.

4. The author of the passage is chiefly concerned with

(A) discussing Bearden's philosophy of art 
(B)  assessing the significance of the ethnic element in Bearden's work  
(C) acknowledging Bearden's success in giving artistic expression to the Black American experience 
(D) pointing out Bearden's helpfulness to other minority artists 
(E) tracing Bearden's progress toward artistic maturity

The author starts with giving us points why should not we categorize Bearden as a Black American Artist given relevant evidences , then goes on to answer because it's too narrow and then reflects the point of view of Bearden himself.

The author basically says since he his works portray x,y,z etc why can't he be categorized as a Black American Artist ? Then explains the deeper understanding of those x,y,z....

blueshores  Hope it helps

SajjadAhmad  Good work Mate. Please tag me in case any of the passages need an explanation. Kudos to you

alman888 · Answer

I thought the passage was easier because I managed to finish it in a bit over 4 minutes, and all correct.

Drilling to questions 2, 3 and 4.

Question 2 is an inference question that is answered by the second paragraph. Take note of what Bearden says: "What stands up in the end is structure...But art amplifies itself to something universal." This describes choice C and the clue is the use of the term humankind to mean universal. The other choices don't mention the "universal" aspect as depicted in the passage.

Question 3 is answered by the first paragraph. It says why RB might be called a black artist. The key lines - edited for how I read them - are: "The   subject matter   of Bearden's collages is certainly Black. Portrayals of...  attest to this  . In natural harmony with   this choice of subject matter   are the social sensibilities of the artist..." It's simply a case of reading the first sentence of the paragraph and seeing what flows from there. Hence the choice is A.

Question 4 is a Scope-type of question and the giveaway is the first word of each answer choice. Again, the topic sentences are helpful. In eliminating answers, I don't see a discussion (choice A) nor racing (E); there's nothing to suggest acknowledging success (B); helping minority artists is mentioned at the end of the first paragraph but it's not the whole passage. Choice C fits the bill because the first passage offers why RB may be a black artist - this is the ethnic element in the answer - and the second paragraph suggests that the black theme misses the point and therefore not significant. So that's what I was thinking when going through the answer choices.

Hope that helps...

Carcass · Answer

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 101, Date : 23-MAR-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

When speaking of Romare Bearden, one is tempted to say, "A great Black American artist." The subject matter of Bearden's collages is certainly Black. Portrayals of the folk of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, whom he remembers from early childhood, of the jazz musicians and tenement roofs of his Harlem days, of Pittsburgh steelworkers, and his reconstruction of classical Greek myths in the guise of the ancient Black kingdom of Benin, attest to this. In natural harmony with this choice of subject matter are the social sensibilities of the artist, who remains active today with the Cinque Gallery in Manhattan, which he helped found and which is devoted to showing the work of minority artists.

Then why not call Bearden a Black American artist? Because ultimately this categorization is too narrow. "What stands up in the end is structure," Bearden says. "What I try to do is amplify. If I were just creating a picture of a farm woman from back home, it would have meaning to her and people there. But art amplifies itself to something universal."

(A) workers in Pittsburgh's steel mills 
(B) scenes set in the ancient kingdom of Benin 
(C) people Bearden knew as a child 
(D) traditional representations of the classical heroes of Greek mythology 
(E) the jazz musicians of the Harlem Bearden used to know 
 1 
 D

2. The author suggests that Bearden should not be called a Black American artist because

(A) there are many collages by Bearden in which the subject matter is not Black 
(B) Bearden's work reflects the Black American experience in a highly individual style 
(C) through the structure of Bearden's art his Black subjects come to represent all of humankind 
(D) Bearden's true significance lies not so much in his own work as in his efforts to help other minority artists 
(E) much of Bearden's work uses the ancient Black kingdom of Benin for its setting 
 2 
 C

3. Bearden's social sensibilities and the subject matter of his collages are mentioned by the author in order to explain

(A) why one might be tempted to call Bearden a Black American artist 
(B) why Bearden cannot be readily categorized 
(C) why Bearden's appeal is thought by many to be ultimately universal 
(D) how deeply an artist's artistic creations are influenced by the artist's social conscience 
(E) what makes Bearden unique among contemporary Black American artists 
 3 
 A

4. The author of the passage is chiefly concerned with

(A) discussing Bearden's philosophy of art 
(B) assessing the significance of the ethnic element in Bearden's work 
(C) acknowledging Bearden's success in giving artistic expression to the Black American experience 
(D) pointing out Bearden's helpfulness to other minority artists 
(E) tracing Bearden's progress toward artistic maturity 
 4 
 B

Source:    GRE Official Material   
Difficulty Level:   650

abhi2707 · Answer

Hi Could you please check the answer to Q4?
B- 'ethnic' is narrowing down the scope of the passage. Since Bearden's work philosophy was centered around the bigger cause (humanity, as universally applicable).
A- by POE is the only choice left. It also justifies the scope of the passage in terms of width. It reflects on Bearden's philosophy of art!! (PS: if most of Bearden's work were not around black/minority/humanity, then his portrayal would not be in ambiguity)

Pl clarify

deepshikha12 · Answer

Passage summary:
1. Romare Bearden (RB)- can we call him black american artist or not
2. Work examples of RB are given to support why we can call him black american artist
3. super tempting choices (some big name droppings museum etc) of his work as example to prove that may be he was black american artist.
4. but wait..!! we cannot, too narrow examples - but why ?
5. art is bigger than what you see and understand.

cool.. So basically, the para is all about to understand if RB can or can not be called the artist of "black"/ particular ethnicity.

1. According to the passage, all of the following are depicted in Bearden's collages EXCEPT
line 3rd to be referred. D is not mentioned

2. The author suggests that Bearden should not be called a Black American artist because

refer: "Then why not call Bearden a Black American artist?  Because ultimately this categorization is too narrow . "

POE:

(A) there are many collages by Bearden in which the subject matter is not Black - not true. 
(B) Bearden's work reflects the Black American experience in a highly individual style - not true
(C) through the structure of Bearden's art his Black subjects come to represent all of humankind - yes... his work goes beyond black/ ethnic group.
(D) Bearden's true significance lies not so much in his own work as in his efforts to help other minority artists - it doesn't capture truly what is it. partially ok. 
(E) much of Bearden's work uses the ancient Black kingdom of Benin for its setting - ok, so .. doesnt give much to work with...

3. Bearden's social sensibilities and the subject matter of his collages are mentioned by the author in order to explain 
going by passage summary, option A.

4. The author of the passage is chiefly concerned with
going by passage summary, option B.

richirish · Answer

4 mins all correct, curious to know the difficulty level of this passsage, looks more like 650.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

The difficulty levels are as follow:

1. 600
2. 600
3. 700
4. 700

Overall: 650

Thank you

VerbalBot · Answer

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When speaking of Romare Bearden, one is tempted to say, "A great Black

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When speaking of Romare Bearden, one is tempted to say, "A great Black

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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