PrepTest 111, Section 2, Question 10

Working the answers

• A

  We learn that his techniques can transform ordinary subjects. That doesn't mean he recommends choosing those subjects specifically to highlight technical creativity. A turns a capability into advice he never gives.

• B
  Correct

  His dark blues and purples suggest melancholy or despair and symbolize the psychological effects of social conditions. Color is doing artistic work and communicating a social message at the same time.

  There is a reasonable hesitation here: the author describes those effects, rather than quoting Bearden's own statement of intent. But the question asks what he would most likely agree with based on this account. His described use of color supports the view that color can carry that message. We don't need a word-for-word declaration from him.

• C

  “Subservient” makes technique less important than the message. The account praises both: his figures convey social reality without losing their value as parts of an artistic composition. It doesn't put one achievement below the other.

• D

  He plainly does depict suffering. The happy scenes give his work greater range; they don't show that he wanted artists to avoid painful subjects.

• E

  Journalism and photography obscure aspects of life through simplification in this comparison. They aren't presented as techniques Bearden should borrow to enrich his creative vision.