From a critical discussion of the work of Victorian photographer Julia

Question

From a critical discussion of the work of Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.

What Cameron called her “fancy-subject” pictures—
photographs in which two or more costumed sitters 
enacted, under Cameron’s direction, scenes from 
the Bible, mythology, Shakespeare, or Tennyson—bear 
  (5)   unmistakable traces of the often comical conditions
under which they were taken. In many respects they
have more connection to the family album pictures of
recalcitrant relatives who have been herded together
for the obligatory group picture than they do to the
  (10)   masterpieces of Western painting. In Raphael and
Giotto there are no infant Christs whose faces are
blurred because they moved, or who are looking at the
viewer with frank hatred. These traces, of course, are
what give the photographs their life and charm. If
  (15)   Cameron had succeeded in her project of making
seamless works of illustrative art, her work would be
among the curiosities of Victorian photography—like
Oscar Gustave Rejlander’s extravagantly awful
 The Two Ways of Life —rather than among its most
  (20)   vital images.

It is precisely the camera’s realism—its stubborn
obsession with the surface of things—that has given
Cameron’s theatricality and artificiality its atmosphere
of truth. It is the truth of the sitting, rather than the
  (25)   fiction which all the dressing up was in aid of, that
wafts out of these wonderful and strange, not-quitein-
focus photographs. They are what they are pictures
of housemaids and nieces and husbands and village
children who are dressed up as Mary Madonnas and
  (30)   infant Jesuses and John the Baptists and Lancelots
and Guineveres and trying desperately hard to sit still.
The way each sitter endures his or her ordeal is the
collective action of the photograph, its “plot” so to
speak. When we look at a narrative painting we can
  (35)   suspend our disbelief; when we look at a narrative
photograph we cannot. We are always aware of the
photograph’s doubleness—of each figure’s imaginary
and real personas. Theater can transcend its doubleness,
can make us believe (for at least some of the time) that
  (40)   we are seeing only Lear or Medea. Still photographs
of theatrical scenes can never escape being pictures
of actors.

What gives Cameron’s pictures of actors their
special quality—their status as treasures of photography
  (45)   of an unfathomably peculiar sort—is their singular
combination of amateurism and artistry. In
 The Passing of Arthur , for example, the mast and oar
of the makeshift boat representing a royal barge are
obviously broomsticks and the water is white muslin
  (50)   drapery. But these details are insignificant. For once,
the homely truth of the sitting gives right of place to
the romantic fantasy of its director. The picture, a
night scene, is magical and mysterious. While
Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures have been compared
  (55)   to poor amateur theatricals,  The Passing of Arthur 
puts one in mind of good amateur theatricals one has
seen, and recalls with shameless delight.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) The circumstances under which Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures were taken render them unintentionally comical.
(B) The peculiar charm of Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures derives from the viewer’s simultaneous awareness of the fictional scene portrayed and the circumstances of its portrayal.
(C) The implicit claim of Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures to comparison with the masterpieces of Western painting is undermined by the obtrusiveness of the sitters.
(D) The most successful of Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures from an aesthetic point of view are those in which the viewer is completely unaware that the sitters are engaged in role playing.
(E) The interest of Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures consists in what they tell us about the sitters and not in the imaginary scenes they portray.

2 
 2. The author mentions the props employed in The Passing of Arthur as

(A) examples of amateurish aspects of the work
(B) evidence of the transformative power of theater
(C) testimonies to Cameron’s ingenuity
(D) indications that the work is intended ironically
(E) support for a negative appraisal of the work

3 
 3. Which one of the following, if true, would most help to explain the claim about suspension of disbelief in lines 34–36?

(A) Sitting for a painting typically takes much longer than sitting for a photograph.
(B) Paintings, unlike photographs, can depict obviously impossible situations.
(C) All of the sitters for a painting do not have to be present at the same time.
(D) A painter can suppress details about a sitter that are at odds with an imaginary persona.
(E) Paintings typically bear the stylistic imprint of an artist, school, or period.

4 
 4. Based on the passage, Cameron is most like which one of the following in relation to her fancy-subject pictures?

(A) a playwright who introduces incongruous elements to preserve an aesthetic distance between characters and audience
(B) a rap artist whose lyrics are designed to subvert the meaning of a song sampled in his recording 
(C) a sculptor whose works possess a certain grandeur even though they are clearly constructed out of ordinary objects
(D) an architect whose buildings are designed to be as functional as possible
(E) a film director who employs ordinary people as actors in order to give the appearance of a documentary

5 
 5. Based on the passage, the author would agree with each of the following statements EXCEPT

(A) A less realistic medium can be more conducive to suspension of disbelief than a more realistic medium.
(B) Amateurishness is a positive quality in some works of art.
(C) What might appear to be an incongruity in a narrative photograph can actually enhance its aesthetic value.
(D) We are sometimes aware of both the real and the imaginary persona of an actor in a drama.
(E) A work of art succeeds only to the extent that it realizes the artist’s intentions.

6 
 6. The passage provides the most support for inferring that in Cameron’s era

(A) there was little interest in photographs documenting contemporary life
(B) photography was practiced mainly by wealthy amateurs
(C) publicity stills of actors were coming into vogue
(D) there were no professional artist’s models
(E) the time required to take a picture was substantial

7 
 7. The discussion of suspension of disbelief in the second paragraph serves which one of the following purposes?

(A) It is the main conclusion of the passage, for which the discussion of Cameron’s fancysubject pictures serves as a case study.
(B) It introduces a contrast the author uses in characterizing the peculiar nature of our response to Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures.
(C) It is the key step in an argument supporting the author’s negative appraisal of the project of narrative photography.
(D) It is used to explain a criticism of Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures that the author shows to be conceptually confused.
(E) It draws a contrast between narrative painting and drama to support the author’s conclusion that Cameron’s fancy-subject pictures are more like the former.

8 
 8. The main purpose of the passage is

(A) to chronicle Cameron’s artistic development as a photographer, which culminated in her masterpiece The Passing of Arthur
(B) to argue that the tension between Cameron’s aims and the results she achieved in some of her works enhances the works’ aesthetic value
(C) to show that Cameron’s essentially theatrical vision accounts for both the strengths and the weaknesses of her photographic oeuvre
(D) to explain why Cameron’s project of acquiring for photography the prestige accorded to painting was doomed to failure
(E) to defend Cameron’s masterpiece The Passing of Arthur against its detractors by showing that it transcends the homely details of its setting

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

6. The passage provides the most support for inferring that in Cameron’s era

Explanation

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

A. No.  The passage does not discuss what people were interested in during Cameron’s time.

B. No.  The passage does not discuss photographers other than Cameron and gives no indication of her socioeconomic standing.

C. No.  The passage never mentions publicity stills, nor does it discuss what was popular in the Victorian era.

D. No.  The fact that Cameron used ordinary people does not necessarily mean that there were no professional models available.

E.  Yes.   In the second paragraph, the author mentions that the subjects of Cameron’s pictures were “trying desperately hard to sit still,” which implies that taking a picture took some time.

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. The author mentions the props employed in The Passing of Arthur as

Explanation

The question is asking why the author brought up the props in the picture. The passage states that they are obviously broomsticks and muslin, but that those details are insignificant, supporting the paragraph’s claim that the combination of amateurism and artistry is what makes the pictures special.

A. Yes.  The author introduces The Passing of Arthur with “for example,” and the broomsticks and muslin support the claim of amateurism.

B. No.  The transformative power of theater is discussed in the second paragraph.

C. No.  The author never discusses Cameron’s ingenuity.

D. No. The passage never claims that Cameron’s work is intended to be ironic.

E. No.  The author has a positive appraisal of the work, calling it magical and mysterious.

Answer: A

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Explanation

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

A. No.  While this answer is partly true, the passage does not discuss Cameron’s intentions and this answer does not capture the author’s appreciation of Cameron’s work.

B.  Yes.   This is an accurate paraphrase of the Bottom Line.

C. No.  The author’s attitude toward the fancy-subject pictures is positive.

D. No.  The passage discusses that the charm of Cameron’s pictures is derived in part from the obviousness that the sitters are actors along with the imaginary scenes.

E. No.  The passage discusses that the charm of Cameron’s pictures is derived from both the sitters and the imaginary scenes.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

8. The main purpose of the passage is

Explanation

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

A. No.  The passage discusses attributes of Cameron’s pictures and The Passing of Arthur in particular, but it does not discuss her development.

B.  Yes.   This accurately paraphrases the Bottom Line of the passage.

C. No.  The passage does not argue that Cameron’s vision is essentially theatrical.

D. No.  This answer choice is too extreme. There is no indication that Cameron’s goals were doomed, only that they did not, in fact, succeed.

E. No.  The passage does not mention distractors of The Passing of Arthur and the discussion of that picture is only one part of the passage.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

7. The discussion of suspension of disbelief in the second paragraph serves which one of the following purposes?

Explanation

The question is asking why the author brings up the suspension of disbelief in the second paragraph. The suspension of disbelief is brought up to contrast how people view narrative paintings and narrative photographs.

A. No.  The main conclusion of the passage is that Cameron’s work succeeds because of its peculiar combination of reality and fantasy.

B.  Yes.   The author discusses the suspension of disbelief to contrast how people view narrative paintings and narrative photographs and how that contrast adds to our appreciation of the photographs.

C. No.  The author views Cameron’s work positively.

D. No.  There is no criticism of Cameron’s work in the passage.

E. No.  The contrast is between narrative paintings and narrative photographs.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. Based on the passage, Cameron is most like which one of the following in relation to her fancy-subject pictures?

Explanation

The question is asking for an analogous relationship to that between Cameron and her fancy-subject pictures. Cameron uses ordinary people in costume to portray scenes from literature.

A. No.  The author does not claim that Cameron tried to preserve an aesthetic distance between her characters and the audience.

B. No.  The author does not claim that Cameron designed her pictures to subvert the meaning of the works she portrays.

C.  Yes.   Cameron’s works use ordinary people in costumes to portray grand scenes from literature.

D. No.  The author does not claim that Cameron’s work was designed to be functional.

E. No.  The author does not claim that Cameron’s goal was to give the appearance of authenticity.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

5. Based on the passage, the author would agree with each of the following statements EXCEPT

Explanation

Four of the answer choices will be supported by the passage text, and the correct answer will disagree with the passage.

A. No.  In the second paragraph, the author states that we can more easily suspend our disbelief when we look at a narrative painting than we can with a photograph.

B. No.  In the third paragraph, the author claims that amateurism is part of what gives Cameron’s pictures their special quality.

C. No.  In the first paragraph, the author states that the comical conditions under which the pictures were taken are what give the pictures their charm.

D. No.  In the second paragraph, the author states that theater transcends its doubleness only some of the time.

E.  Yes.   At the end of the first paragraph, the author discusses that the charm of Cameron’s work is due in part to the fact that she did not succeed in making seamless works of illustrative art.

Answer: E

VerbalBot · Answer

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From a critical discussion of the work of Victorian photographer Julia

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