Self-study
P1
African American painter Sam Gilliam (b. █████ ██ ███████████████ ██████████ ██ ███ ██ ███ ████████ ████████ ██████████ ████ ███ ██████████ █████ ███████ █ █████ ██ █████ █████ █████ ████████ ██████████ ██ ███████████ ████ ██████ ███ █████ ███ ██████ ███ █████ █████ █████ ███ ██ █████████ ███████████ ██ ████████ ███ ████ ███████ █████ ███ ████ ██ ████████ ██████████████ ███
Intro topic ·
Painter Sam Gilliam and Washington Color School (WCS)
Abstract artists
History of WCS ·
From complex to simplified abstractions
P2
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Gilliam's motivation ·
To create more experimental, less literal art than contemporaries
Other African American artists' work was representational (literal) with clear messages; Gilliam wanted more "artsy" art
Example of literal art ·
What Gilliam was reacting against
Revisit Gilliam's motivation ·
To create more expressive art
Saw literal art as limiting
Author's perspective ·
Gilliam's motivation was unique
P3
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Contrast ·
Gilliam's view with public's view
Public expected African American art to have direct, political messages; Gilliam's art was different, experimental
Examples of Gilliam's style ·
Folded and unsupported canvases
Significance of examples ·
Conveyed complex artistic ideas
Main point ·
Gilliam's art conveyed some things better than literal art forms could
Passage Style
Single position
Spotlight
1.
In the passage, the author ██ █████████ █████████ ████
a
describing the motivation ██████ ███ ██████ ██ ██ ████████ ████
This best captures the primary purpose. P2 describes Gilliam’s motivation, and P3 describes the features of Gilliam’s work.
b
describing the political ██████ ████ ████████ ██ ████████ ████
Gilliam’s work didn’t have explicitly political themes. His work was a reaction to the expectation that African American artists produce political art. And there’s no indication that it had implicitly political ones, either.
c
describing the evolution ██ ██ ████████ █████ ████ █ ██████ ██ ████
Although the author does describe changes in Gilliam’s work over time in P3, this doesn’t capture the overall purpose of the passage, because it ignores P1 and P2. The author’s focus isn’t on the evolution of Gilliam’s work, but on what motivated Gilliam and the features of his work.
d
demonstrating that a ███████ ████████ █████ ████ ████ █████ ███████ ████████ ███████
This doesn’t capture the author’s focus on Gilliam’s art. The primary purpose isn’t to demonstrate something about Gilliam’s views; it’s to tell us about Gilliam’s art.
e
demonstrating that a ███████ ██████ ███ ████ ██ █████████ ███ █████████ ███████████
It’s not clear that Gilliam had any technical limitations. Since (E) isn’t supported, it can’t be the author’s primary purpose. In any case, (E) also doesn’t capture the author’s focus on Gilliam’s motivation and the features of his work.