PrepTest 125

[lcid:3598] Prep Test 125 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 8-15  .        The painter Roy Lichtenstein helped to define pop  . art—the movement that incorporated commonplace  . objects Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Lichtenstein’s style and accomplishments
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Definition of “pop art”:
      • Common objects and commercial art in paintings
    • Author’s view on Lichtenstein’s accomplishment:
      • Poked fun at the pretentious art world and expressed a seriousness of theme (more than parody)
    • Author’s attitude: “complex result” (line 6); “managed to convey” (line 8); “transcend mere parody” (lines 9-10)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Pop art as a reaction to late abstract expressionism
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Conventional view:
      • Pop art emerged in response to abstract expressionism
    • Author’s view:
      • Pop artists like Lichtenstein reacted to the second generation of abstract expressionism (which lost most of power)
    • Author’s attitude: “at first difficult to see” (line 12); “had already lost much of its force” (line 21); “powerful early abstract expressionist work” (lines 22-23); “seemed airy, high-minded, and overly lyrical” (line 25); “fading emotional power of abstract expressionism, rather than an aloof attempt to ignore it” (lines 28-30)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Other dimension of Lichtenstein; contrast with other pop art
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author’s view
      • If Lichtenstein was just a parody, not as much power; also motivated to depict contemporary life (missing from other art)
      • Lichtenstein reconciles cartoons and fine art, parody and feeling
    • List of elements in Lichtenstein's work that was taken from contemporary life:
      • Romances, war stories, automobiles, hot dogs, table lamps
    • Comparison with other pop art, according to author:
      • Lichtenstein’s work was different from with other pop art and late abstract expressionism because it expressed a naive nostalgia/sweetness
    • Author’s attitude: “it would possess only the reflective power that parodies have” (lines 33-34); “excess of sophistication” (lines 46); “an inner sweetness” (line 51); “faith in reconciliation” (line 53)

Main Point: Lichtenstein’s use of comic book styles made the depth in his work difficult to see, but he was able to successfully poke fun at the art world’s pretensions while also conveying a seriousness of theme and a naive nostalgia about contemporary life.

Key Lines?

Lines 5-10 - The Author’s overall view of Lichtenstein’s art and accomplishments

Lines 15-17 - Standard art history’s view on pop art’s origins

Lines 27-30 - How Lichtenstein fits into that history

Lines 35-38 - What made Lichtenstein’s art more than just parody

Lines 43-48 - Lichtenstein’s art compared to other pop art and abstract expressionism

Lines 52-55 - Closing opinion by the Author

Meta-Structure?

Importance of Subject: Some humanities passages don’t necessarily present an artist as being an innovator as much as they describe the importance of their work. These generally set the work in its historical context and discuss influences on the artist, but they focus on the accomplishments and characteristics of that artist’s work rather than what they did “first.” Here, the author starts by talking about Lichtenstein as someone who “helped to define pop art” (Lines 1-2), placing his work in its historical context. The author goes on to talk about the “complex result” of his work (Lines 5-10), before going on to flesh out the historical context of it (Paragraph 2). The author then explains how Lichtenstein’s work transcended mere parody (Lines 31-43) and contrasts Lichtenstein with previous and contemporary work (Lines 43-48) to highlight his specific achievement. When a passage falls into this Meta-Structure, the main point focuses on how the author characterizes the artist’s work and their accomplishments, leading to our anticipated main point above.

List: While a minor part of the passage, there’s a list of elements in Lichtenstein’s work in Lines 38-42. There will likely be a question that asks about this list.

Last Thoughts?

There were descriptions of several styles here, even splitting abstract expressionism and pop art into sub-styles, so we should have a general idea of each, as there will likely be questions about them:

  • Early abstract expressionism - Private emotions with nonrepresentational techniques (Lines 17-19)
  • Late abstract expressionism - As above, but “airy, high-minded, and overly lyrical” (Lines 24-25)
  • Pop art - Commonplace objects and commercial-art techniques (Lines 2-3)
  • Some pop art - Jaded cynicism about consumer culture (Line 44)
  • Lichtenstein - Pop art, but deliberate naivete, nostalgic, and sweet, with a focus on the depiction of contemporary life (Line 38; Line 45; Line 51)

Question prompt

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Review the main point and then find an answer reflecting the Author’s attitude

Answer Anticipation

For Author’s Attitude questions, the answer choices tend to fall into one of two categories: two-word answer choices or opinion + detail answer choices. The former generally capture only the direction (positive/negative/neutral) and strength of the author’s opinion. The latter generally capture the direction and strength in one word, then fills in some details in the passage. This one falls into the latter camp.In this case, the question asks about the author’s attitude on Lichtenstein’s work. That’s a very broad topic in this passage. Now, we could go back to the passage to review all of the author’s stated opinions. However, this approach would require us to re-read and review a lot of the passage. That’s an inefficient use of our limited time, so it’s not the approach we recommend. Instead, we’ll recall the author’s main point, as well as the corollary points the author makes. Then, let’s work our way through the answer choices, tabling any that don't align with the author's views and examining any answer choice that conforms to those views.

Answer choices

  1. A
    enthusiasm for its more Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this seem consistent with the author’s main point or what you recall about the author’s opinions on Lichtenstein?

    Not quite. The author’s main point is that Lichtenstein poked fun at the art world’s pretensions while also conveying a seriousness of theme and a naive nostalgia about contemporary life. In this main point, the author seems to prize this seriousness of theme as much or more “rebellious,” insolent characteristics. Experienced test-takers would therefore table this answer choice and keep looking at the remaining.

    If we felt compelled to review the passage to verify whether (A) is supported, we’d see that the author does say Lichtenstein’s rebelled against previous art. However, the author also says that if this rebellion was the only part of Lichtenstein’s work, the work wouldn’t have that much power. Since the author says the rebellious aspects by themselves don’t lend that much power to Lichtenstein’s work, the author isn’t too enthusiastic about those elements.

  2. B
    respect for its successful Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this seem consistent with the author’s main point or what you recall about the author’s opinions on Lichtenstein?

    Nope. Part of the author’s main point is that Lichtenstein poked fun at the art world’s pretensions. So, the author notes that Lichtenstein parodied the pretensions of the art world, not youth and innocence. In fact, his use of cartoons incorporated elements of youth and innocence, so Lichtenstein didn’t parody those qualities.

  3. C
    pleasure in its blatant Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this seem consistent with the author’s main point or what you recall about the author’s opinions on Lichtenstein?

    This is a tempting answer! However, there are two issues here. First, the author says that Lichtenstein rebelled against the “fading emotional power of abstract expressionism,” not abstract expressionism itself (and that’s far short of rejecting it). Second, “pleasure” is a little bit stronger than the passage warrants. The author certainly finds Lichtenstein’s work to be fine art and powerful, but being the author never suggests that they are pleased by Lichtenstein’s reaction to abstract expressionism.

  4. D
    admiration for its subtle Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this seem consistent with the author’s main point or what you recall about the author’s opinions on Lichtenstein?

    Not quite. The author calls Lichtenstein’s depiction of contemporary life naive, nostalgic, and sweet. These descriptions don’t doesn’t imply that Lichtenstein’s work critiques contemporary culture, or that the author admires such a critique.

  5. E
    appreciation for its ability Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    (E) Does this seem consistent with the author’s main point or what you recall about the author’s opinions on Lichtenstein?

    Yes! This is consistent with the part of the author’s main point that Lichtenstein’s works convey a seriousness of theme and a naive nostalgia about contemporary life. The author praises Lichtenstein’s work for these reasons in Paragraph 3. In discussing that seriousness, the author refers to Lichtenstein’s “impulse toward realism” and “deliberate naivete” in his work.

What this tests

Discussion

  • D 3 replies

    Started by mayatassi

  • Why isn't it D? 1 reply

    Started by yassmenaraim

  • Answer Choice B 1 reply

    Started by NS1

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