PrepTest 101 - Section 1 - Passage 4 - Question 22

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A fake can be defined as an artwork intended to deceive. ███ ███████ ██ ███ ███████ ███ █████████ ███ ███ █████ ██ ███ ██████ ██████ ██ █ ████████ ██████ ███

Context · Fake art

Fake = artwork intended to deceive. Motives of creator determine whether something is fake.

Intro topic · Mark Jones's book, "Fake?"

The book explores area between "fake" and "not fake."

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Motivations for faking throughout history · Faking flourished whenever art collection flourished

Examples: Romans were interesteed in collecting Greek art, so faking Greek art was common. Not much faking in medieval Europe, because art was more for religious purposes (not collection). Renaissance involved faking to make art appear older and to make art seem like it was made by a famous artist.

Concept of authenticity · Tied to function of object among some people; might not exist in some cultures

Example: Collectors think Bambara masks are authentic if their form matches their ceremonial purpose. Not clear whether Bambaran artists would agree.

Passage Style

Single position

22.

Which one of the following ████ █████████ ███ ████████ ████ ██████

Question Type

Main point

It’s difficult to anticipate something specific for this main point question, because the passage doesn’t focus on a single argument. The passage explores issues related to the concept of “fake” art. Let’s rely on process of elimination.

The faking of ███ ███ ████████ ██████████ ███████ ███ ██ █████████ █████ ████████

The main point isn't about the universality of faking. Although the author does discuss fakes in different cultures (including a culture that didn't have much faking), the focus of the passage is on the different motives cultures have for faking as well as different perspectives on what constitutes faking. There's a difference between "cultures faked art" and "here's why cultures faked art and what they thought about faking."

25%

Whether a work ██ ███ ██ ████ ██ ███ ██ ████ █████████ ████ ███████ ██ ███ ████████ ██████

The author never expresses a judgment about whether artistic merit is more important than whether an artwork is fake. Because this isn’t supported, it can’t be the main point.

14%

It is possible ██ ████ ████ █ ████ ██ ███ ██ █████ ███ ███ ████████████ ██ █ ████ ██████ ██ ██████ █████████████

The author never argues that it’s impossible to prove that an artwork is authentic. Although the author does present an example at the end that shows different cultures might have different views on what’s authentic, or might not even have a concept of authenticity, that doesn’t imply the author thinks it’s impossible to prove authenticity. Maybe we can prove authenticity based on the standards of cultures that do have that concept.

11%

A variety of █████████████ ████ ██ █████████ ██ █████████ ███████ █ ████ ██ ███ ███ █████████████ ██ ██████ █ █████

This is the best answer. The passage presents some circumstances that make it difficult to determine whether an artwork is fake. In P1, the author introduces the idea of a range of possibilities between “fake” and “original.” In P3 the author points out that what is fake/original might depend on an object’s purpose. Arguably the end of P2 also presents another circumstance that makes it difficult to determine whether an artwork is fake — an artwork might be so great that it “assimilates and transcends” what came before, even if it was influenced by past works.

47%

Without an international ██████ ██ ███████ ███ ███ ██████ ██ ███ █████ ██████

Not supported, because the author never suggests that an international market is necessary to sustain the faking of art.

PrepTest 101 - Section 1 - Passage 4 - Question 22

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