PrepTest 115

[lcid:3558] Prep Test 115 LSAT — Reading Comp — S3 Reading comp

Passage

Questions 1-8  .        The contemporary Mexican artistic movement  . known as muralism, a movement of public art that  . Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Humanities


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Background on Mexican muralist art movement (sponsored by the post-revolutionary Mexican state; three artists' goals).
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Contrast drawn between the ideological basis of muralism and the theoretical/artistic basis:
      • Ideologically, muralism had a close connection to the Mexican government and traditional culture, but its principal artists, Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Jose Clemente Orozco, sought to comment commented on the time period and culture (first through last sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "closely linked ideologically" (first sentence), "ambitious cultural program" (second sentence); "Mexico's richness and possibility" (second sentence); "was formulated by the artists themselves" (third sentence); "major figures" (fourth sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's view on muralists' innovations (not just political; freer expression than traditional muralists)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Author's view:
      • The author implies that there is an established view of the muralists as mere producers of state-sponsored art with little artistic merit; the author asserts that this view is wrong (second sentence)
    • Example of artistic innovation:
      • Muralists' works depicted traditional subjects in a freer way than previous artists working in the realist style (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "mistake" (first sentence), "reduce" (first sentence), "more than merely" (second sentence); "important innovations" (second sentence), "freer in expression" (fourth sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's support (distinct artistic styles/innovations of Siqueiros, Rivera, and Orozco)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of innovations developed by each artist:
      • Rivera: incorporated Renaissance and pre-Columbian elements; depicted people as mechanical shapes (second sentence)
      • Orozco: used expressionism and diagonal lines (third and fourth sentences)
      • Siqueiros: used asymmetry, action, and bold colors (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "distinct styles" (first sentence), "incorporated" (second sentence), "strange combination" (second sentence); "openly emotional" (third sentence), "strong diagonal" (fourth sentence), "heightened movement and drama" (fourth sentence); "brilliant color" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Author's explanation of innovations (caused by large scale of the mural form)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Cause-and-effect relationship
      • Murals, with their physically larger area to cover than the canvases the artists had been used to, caused innovations (first through last sentences)
    • Examples of the ways the mural medium led to innovations:
      • Murals allowed for sweeping brushstrokes and thus more impactful images (second sentence)
      • Large area in which viewers can see murals led to bolder artistic statements designed to strike the viewer from many angles (last sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "experimentation" (first sentence); "can be seen as" (first sentence); "bold effect" (second sentence), "equally strong impact" (last sentence)

Main Point: State-sponsored Mexican muralism was inspired by Mexican traditions and history but provided an opportunity for multiple artistic innovations.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1, S1) - Introduces muralism and ties to the Mexican government

P1, S3 - Names prominent mural painters

P2, S2 - Asserts that muralism allowed for artistic innovations

P4, S1 - Author's explanation of muralism's innovations

Meta-Structure?

Innovative Subject: This passage utilizes the Innovative Subject Meta-Structure. The author asserts that Mexican muralism was a highly innovative artistic movement that allowed painters to move beyond realism. The author contrasts this assertion with the belief that muralists merely provided state-sponsored propaganda reflecting Mexico's post-Revolution political ideology by focusing on traditional and historical subjects. Although the muralists painted traditional, cultural, and historical representations of Mexico, the author argues that the muralists' style was new, a result of unique influences (from pre-Columbian, to Italian Renaissance, to expressionism) and the huge size of the mural form itself.

The main point in an Innovative Subject passage is the author's opinion on the subject's innovations. In this passage, the author claims Mexican muralism was significant, in part, for the new artistic techniques that the three prominent muralists — Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros — deployed.

Last Thoughts?

This passage is straightforward in terms of the structure of the author's argument. The author offers their conclusion in the second paragraph and provides support in the third and fourth paragraphs.

What's the first paragraph doing, then? It's setting up the rest of the passage. In the passage, the author makes a key distinction between the initial impetus of the muralist movement and its innovations. The first paragraph, then, describes the movement's initial impetus. The movement was initially meant to express Mexican heritage and traditions following the Mexican Revolution. And the muralists started their work with the same premise: to use familiar images and ideas to comment on the present. The rest of the passage contrasts the familiar, state-sponsored beginnings of the movement with the stylistic innovations the artists would later initiate. The artists' innovations arose naturally from their artistic knowledge and from the new experience of painting on a scale much larger than they had used before. The author thus contrasts the old/traditional with the new/innovative in this passage.

Question prompt

Based on the passage, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Question Type

Humanities

Strategy Overview

Review your notes to recall the muralists' views, then find an answer that must be true according to the passage.

Answer Anticipation

This question stem asks us to infer a belief the muralists would agree with. Often, one's views are described at length throughout the passage, so reviewing the passage or anticipating what the correct answer will say is not a wise investment of our limited time. Instead, we can remind ourselves of what we noted about their views and go on to the answer choices. We'll eliminate each one we know is wrong (for instance, if we know it contradicts their views) and table any choice that includes a detail we don't remember reading. If we see a detail we recall, even vaguely, we can review the passage to see if we can find the supporting text.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Art should be evaluated Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice match what we wrote down or can recall about the muralists' views?

    Probably not. Our notes do not mention the muralists' comparing art's style/form to its content. For this reason, experienced test-takers would table (A) and assess the next answer choice.

    If we needed to examine (A) more thoroughly, we'd see that the passage does not describe how the muralists evaluated art. The passage discusses how they created their art and what they were trying to express with it. But it never mentions how they viewed other art. In fact, the author's descriptions of the muralists' work imply that they valued content in addition to style and form (P1, S4). There is no hint that they would value one over the other, so this is not the right choice.

  2. B
    Government sponsorship is essential Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this answer choice match what we wrote down or can recall about the muralists' views?

    Probably not. Our notes neither say nor suggest that the muralists' thought their government sponsors were essential to their art. So, experienced test-takers would table (B) and move on to the next answer choice.

    If we needed to examine (B) more thoroughly, we'd see that although the passage states that the muralists' art was state-sponsored and that they advanced the state's ideology, it doesn't assert that the muralists thought government sponsorship essential to the flourishing of art. For all we know, the muralists might have thought that other forms of financial backing were preferable to government sponsorship. Because of the ambiguity surrounding the muralists' views on this point, this is not the right answer.

  3. C
    Realism is unsuited to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this answer choice match what we wrote down or can recall about the muralists' views?

    Probably not. Our notes don't mention the muralists' views on realism, so we can at least table (C) and check out the next answer choice.

    Test-takers with good memories may recall that this answer choice contradicts the second paragraph, which states that many murals were created in the realist style (P2, S3). If the muralists had thought realism was unsuited to murals, they wouldn't have used it.

  4. D
    The use of techniques Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem

    (D) Does this answer choice match what we wrote down or can recall about the muralists' views?

    Well, our note for the third paragraph says, "Author's support (distinct artistic styles/innovations of Siqueiros, Rivera, and Orozco)." The "distinct artistic styles" suggests the muralists could have taken techniques from other cultures. And our anticipated main point is that, "Mexican muralism was inspired by Mexican traditions and history." (If we highlighted some of the specific examples — one of our minor Meta-Structures — we could have located this detail even more quickly.) The "inspired by Mexican traditions and history" part suggests that the muralists may have been attempting to rediscover their national identity. So, astute test-takers may realize it's worth checking the passage to confirm that (D) is correct.

    Upon review, the strongest support for this answer choice is in the third paragraph. The author states that all the muralists wanted to rediscover "their national identity" and that Rivera, in particular, used elements of pre-Columbian sculpture and Italian Renaissance fresco to achieve his desired effects (P3, S1-2). It does not explicitly mention that the other two muralists were influenced by other cultures, but it implies that this is the case since expressionism, a movement that influenced Siqueiros and Orozco, has European origins (P3, S3-5).

    Even without this piece of information, it is possible simply through process of elimination to determine that this is the answer choice with the most textual support. The other choices are either totally lacking in support or directly contradicted by the information about the muralists in the passage.

  5. E
    Traditional easel painting is Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice match what we wrote down or can recall about the muralists' views?

    Probably not. Our notes don't describe the muralists' views on "traditional easel painting," so experienced test-takers would table (E) and review the most attractive answer choice.

    If we needed to examine (E) more thoroughly, we wouldn't find any textual support for this answer choice. In fact, in the second sentence of the fourth paragraph, the author implies all three muralists painted on canvas before becoming muralists. Given the muralists' populist political views, they would probably wouldn't consider a medium in which they all three worked to be elitist.

What this tests

Discussion

  • Answer explanation 3 replies

    Started by sydneycrudo123

  • C 2 replies

    Started by tomgbean

  • Why A instead of E? 1 reply

    Started by Julian-Musikant

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