PrepTest 140, Section 4, Question 1
African American painter Sam Gilliam (b.(436 more words not shown)
In the passage, the author(4 more words not shown)
- Adescribing the motivation(7 more words not shown)
- Bdescribing the political(6 more words not shown)
- Cdescribing the evolution(9 more words not shown)
- Ddemonstrating that a(9 more words not shown)
- Edemonstrating that a(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the connection between Gilliam's motivation and his work: he found explicit, literal art too limiting and pursued experiments that could evoke subtler experiences. The purpose answer should capture both why he took this approach and what the approach involved.
What we’re looking for
Being different from his contemporaries is part of that explanation. It isn't the only thing we learn about him.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The second paragraph explains his dissatisfaction and what he wanted instead; the third describes his experiments and their expressive effects. Motivation and nature cover those two connected parts of the account.
- B
The African American experience matters to Gilliam, but we aren't given a catalog of political themes running through his paintings. The focus is his method of expression and his reaction against unmistakable political messages.
- C
There is some chronology, including early experiments and the later unsupported canvas. But the account is not primarily tracing his style's evolution. Much of the opening chronology concerns the Color Field movement, and the central discussion connects his artistic choices to his aims.
- D
The author does say his view was rare. That is a supporting point about his position among contemporaries, not a sufficient description of the explanation of his actual work. It leaves out the experiments and what they were meant to express.
- E
No technical inability is identified for him to overcome. Experimenting with a different form is not the same as conquering a stated limitation in artistic skill.
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