Chords of Color
Some viewers see the paintings of abstract artist James Little as impersonal, discordant rainbows. Others see them as minimalistic distillations of emotion, in other words, they are (61) metaphors for Little’s feelings about social issues and historical events.
He paints large-scale patterns of shapes - mostly triangles and narrow rectangles in vibrant (62) contrasting hues.
His paintings explore the ambiguity of space, the energy of movement, and the coming together of unlikely elements. But his subject he says (63) is color. [64]
In 2011, working out of his studio in Brooklyn, New York, Little is painting on canvas using his own blends of beeswax and oil paint. He applies at least fifteen layers of these paints that he blended himself (65) to achieve a thick, smooth, color-soaked, luminescent surface. Most of his paintings are voluminous, (66) about six feet by eight feet. To create sharp visual breaks and clean edges of color in these expansive works, he paints slashing diagonal lines and rays.
In his 2005 painting Bittersweet Victory, by all means, (67) the canvas is bisected by a vertical, beige (68) line. On the left half, three orange triangles in a row, each one which stretched (69) from the bottom to the top of the canvas’s left half, (70) angle slightly to the right on a purple background. On the right half, three vertical bands of dark green, one edge of each band slanting to create a point that touches the top of the canvas, cuts through (71) a lime-green background. Little explains that the internal spaces in his paintings (created by lines and blocks of color) need to play off of each other in a way that lends rhythm and unity to the whole (72) work. The effect is much like something that would remind you (73) of a perfect jazz collaboration. [74]
One of Little’s favorite assessments of his work came from a woman who told him that his paintings are optimistic. Little believes the bold, positive energy infusing his work comes from what he observes around him. His paintings reflect what he considers the essence of our experiences as human beings. The malleable nature of space, the surprising shifts, but, in the end, a balance.
61.
A. NO CHANGE
B. emotion, they see the paintings as
C. emotion the works offer
D. emotion,
62. Which choice is correctly punctuated and makes clear that all the shapes that Little paints are painted in vibrant and contrasting hues?
F. NO CHANGE
G. shapes - mostly triangles and narrow rectangles - in vibrant,
H. shapes - mostly triangles - and narrow rectangles in vibrant,
J. shapes, mostly triangles and narrow rectangles in vibrant
63.
A. NO CHANGE
B. But his subject, he says,
C. But, his subject, he says
D. But his subject, he says
64. At this point, the writer is considering adding the following true statement: Little also says that Syracuse University, where he earned his MFA in 1976, was a “beacon for abstract painting.” Should the writer make this addition here?
F. Yes, because it provides a smooth transition to the biographical focus of the paragraph that follows.
G. Yes, because it indicates where Little first became focused on working with color.
H. No, because it adds information that is tangentially related to the essay but blurs the focus of the first paragraph.
J. No, because it causes unnecessary confusion concerning the essay’s assertion that Little works with geometric figures.
65.
A. NO CHANGE
B. paint, which is of his own making, and does so
C. his own blends that he made
D. these blends
66.
F. NO CHANGE
G. immeasurable,
H. mountainous,
J. large,
67.
A. NO CHANGE
B. for example,
C. in contrast,
D. thereafter,
68.
Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?
F. vertically bisected by a beige
G. bisected by a vertically beige
H. bisected vertically by a beige
J. bisected by a beige, vertical
69.
A. NO CHANGE
B. which by stretching
C. stretching
D. stretches
70.
F. NO CHANGE
G. canvas, on the left half,
H. left half of the canvas,
J. canvas,
71.
A. NO CHANGE
B. cuts crossed
C. cut through
D. cut crossed
72.
F. NO CHANGE
G. on the entirety of the
H. into the whole
J. with the entire
73.
A. NO CHANGE
B. reminiscent of something that echoes
C. much like that of
D. being like
74. If the writer were to delete the preceding sentence, the paragraph would primarily lose a description of Little’s work that:
F. builds on the subtle musical reference in the paragraph to create a comparison between Little’s paintings and jazz.
G. indicates the popularity of Little’s paintings by drawing a comparison between his work and jazz collaborations.
H. provides a transition to the following paragraph’s focus on several assessments of Little’s work by art critics.
J. emphasizes the idea that Little’s methods allowed him to reach the goals he uniquely set for his piece Bittersweet Victory.
Question 75 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.
75. Suppose the writer’s primary purpose had been to describe how an artist uses simple elements to convey large ideas. Would this essay accomplish that purpose?
A. Yes, because it focuses primarily on one viewer’s conclusion that the lines of color in Little’s Bittersweet Victory communicate the idea of optimism.
B. Yes, because it conveys that Little uses shapes and color to capture what he sees as the movement and rhythm of the human experience.
C. No, because it focuses too heavily on describing the metaphor that Little hoped to create with Bitter sweet Victory but does not explain what that painting looked like.
D. No, because it indicates that Little focuses on color in his work but does not suggest the effect that his work achieves.
Answers
61. The best answer is D because it results in a complete sentence with a comma separating the main clause from the appositive phrase “metaphors for Little’s feelings about social issues and historical events.”
62. The best answer is G because it meets both criteria of the question. It is punctuated correctly with dashes that set off the phrase “mostly triangles and rectangles.” This punctuation also indicates that all Little’s shapes, not just his triangles and rectangles, are painted in vibrant and contrasting hues.
63. The best answer is B because it correctly sets off the nonessential phrase “he says” using commas.
64. The best answer is H because the sentence, although informative, is not strongly related to the paragraph’s general discussion of Little’s art. Adding information about Syracuse University would blur the focus of the first paragraph.
65. The best answer is D because it is the only option that does not introduce a redundancy into the sentence.
66. The best answer is J because it most clearly and logically conveys the idea that Little’s paintings are big, as the measurements (6 feet by 8 feet) make clear.
67. The best answer is B because the phrase “for example” serves as a transition from the preceding sentence, which discusses Little’s use of color and lines, to this paragraph, which provides a specific description of one of Little’s paintings that uses lines.
68. The best answer is G because it is the only unacceptable alternative to the underlined phrase. The phrase “vertically beige” offers a misplaced modifier; something cannot be beige in a vertical way.
69. The best answer is C because the participle stretching creates a grammatical sentence that also makes sense.
70. The best answer is J because it is the only option that does not introduce a redundancy into the sentence.
71. The best answer is C because it uses the plural verb cut, which agrees in number with the plural subject of the sentence, bands. It also uses the preposition through, which makes sense in the sentence.
72. The best answer is F because it attaches the preposition to to the verb lends, which creates a correct idiomatic expression.
73. The best answer is C because it conveys the comparison between the effect of Little’s work and a jazz collaboration in the most clear and concise way. It does not repeat the same idea, and it does not add unnecessary words to the sentence.
74. The best answer is F because it builds on the paragraph’s previous reference to rhythm and unity by mentioning a perfect jazz collaboration and offers a comparison between Little and this jazz collaboration.
75. The best answer is B because the essay discusses how Little uses bright colors and shapes to convey energy and the essence of people’s experiences as human beings.