Self-study
P1
The Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, initiated by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in an attempt to reduce the influence of China's intellectual elite on the country's institutions, has had lasting repercussions on Chinese art. ███
Intro topic ·
China's Cultural Revolution and its impacts on Chinese art
Describe impacts ·
of Cultural Revolution on Chinese art
Censorship; art had to be politically focused and conform to Communist Party's ideology
P2
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Longer-term impacts ·
of Cultural Revolution on Chinese art
Artists reacted against the limitations imposed by the Cultural Revolution, leading to a flourishing of artistic movements after the Revolution
Example of reactionary art ·
Scar Art emerged in response to Cultural Revolution
Painters trained in the "realist" style by the Communist Party were exiled, witnessed rural poverty, and depicted that poverty more honestly than communist-approved art did
Contrast ·
Scar Art and Revolutionary Realism
Communist-approved Revolutionary Realism focused on broad and impressive subject matter and portrayed communist society as perfect; Scar Art focused on specific and mundane subject matter and portrayed society's flaws
P3
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Later artistic developments ·
Scar Art declined, gave way to Native Soil movement
Native Soil art celebrated traditional (non-modernized) rural life
Contrast ·
Scar Art and Native Soil art
Scar Art depicted the damage caused by modernity on rural life; Native Soil art celebrated traditional rural life
Author's perspective ·
Native Soil art "trivialized" by trying to please Western observers
Negative outcome for Native Soil art
Passage Style
Single position
Spotlight
6.
Which one of the following ██████ ████ ██████████ ████████ ███ ████ █████ ██ ███ ████████
a
"Painting and Politics: █ ██████ ██ █████████ ██████████ ██ ████████████ ███████ ████
This doesn’t capture the passage’s focus on the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese art. (A) concerns various influences on modern Chinese art, but doesn’t center on the Cultural Revolution and its impact on art.
b
"How Two Movements ██ ███████ ████████ ███████████ ███ ████████ ███████████
The passage never discusses how movement in Chinese art transformed the Cultural Revolution. The passage concerns how the Cultural Revolution affected art.
c
"Scarred Reality: A ████ ████ ███████ █████ ████ ██ ███ ████ █████████ ████████
This is too narrowly focused on Scar Art. The passage is about more than just Scar Art or Chinese rural life.
d
"The Rise of ███████ ██ ███████████ ███ ██ ██████
This doesn’t capture the passage’s focus on the impact of the Cultural Revolution on art. Notice that it doesn’t even mention the Cultural Revolution or its role in the contributing to realist art movements.
e
"The Unforeseen Artistic ██████ ██ ███████ ████████ ███████████
This is the best answer. The passage is focused on the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese art, and (E) captures this focus. The “unforeseen legacy” refers to the ironic way in which the Cultural Revolution helped artistic movements flourish in reaction to the kind of art that was approved of during the Cultural Revolution.