Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Medium

PT115 S3 P1 Q6 Explanation

Mexican Muralist Painters

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Passage

The contemporary Mexican artistic movement known as muralism, a movement of public art that began with images painted on walls in an effort to represent Mexican national culture, is closely linked ideologically with its main sponsor, the new Mexican government elected in 1920 following the Mexican Revolution. This government promoted an ambitious myths, geography, and history of the local communities that constitute the basis of Mexican national culture.

But while many muralist works express populist or nationalist ideas, it is a mistake to attempt to reduce Mexican mural painting to formulaic, official government art. It is more than merely the result of the changes in political and social awareness that the Mexican Revolution represented; it also reflected important innovations in enabled them to be freer in expression than were more traditional practitioners of this style.

Moreover, while they shared a common interest in rediscovering their Mexican national identity, they developed their own distinct styles. Rivera, for example, incorporated elements from pre-Columbian sculpture and the Italian Renaissance fresco into his murals and used a strange combination of mechanical shapes to depict the faces and bodies of people. Orozco, similar direction as Orozco, but incorporated asymmetric compositions, a high degree of action, and brilliant color.

This stylistic experimentation can be seen as resulting from the demands of a new medium. In stretching their concepts from small easel paintings with a centralized subject to vast compositions with mural dimensions, muralists learned to think big and to respect the sweeping gesture of the arm—the brush stroke required to achieve all parts, and to continue to be viewable as people moved across in front of them.

What this question is testing

Strengthen

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion more likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that are consistent with the argument but add no real support, or that strengthen a claim the argument doesn't make.

Winning move

Locate the gap between evidence and conclusion, then pick the choice that closes it.

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The question
6.

Which one of the following, if true, most supports the author’s claim about the relationship between muralism and the

Answer choices

  1. Correct76% picked this

    The major figures in muralism also created important works in that style that were deliberately

    Why this is right

    This sounds like it reinforces the first half of the sentence in question. We can support the idea that muralism was not merely reducible to formulaic, official government art, if some of the major muralists were creating works that were "deliberately not political".

    Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  2. Weakens, if anything5% picked this

    Not all muralist painters were familiar with the innovations being made at that time in

    The line we're trying to support is that muralism reflected important innovations in the art world. Meanwhile, this is saying, "There were muralists who weren't even familiar with the innovations in the art world".

  3. Weakens, if anything6% picked this

    The changes taking place at that time in the art world were revivals

    We're trying to support that muralists were reflecting innovations in the art world. This answer is making it seem like there weren't really even innovations in the art world at the time; they were just bringing back old styles.

  4. No Impact12% picked this

    Officials in the Mexican government were not familiar with the innovations being made at that time

    We're trying to support the idea that muralists were reflecting innovations in the art world. It doesn't really matter to us whether government officials were familiar with these innovations, only if artists were familiar with them and implementing them.

  5. Opposite1% picked this

    Only those muralist works that reflected nationalist sentiments were permitted to be viewed

    We're looking to de-couple muralism from official government art, and this answer is smashing them together inseparably.

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