Q1

[JChapmanIV]

I'm confused on where You can find the support for B, in regards to modern art? It mentions responding to changes in the art world, but modern art represents a distinction movement in terms of art?I immediately crossed that choice out and moved on, is this just poor reasoning to assume modern art and the mentioned changes are not necessarily one and the same?

[christine.defenbaugh]

Thank you for your question JChapmanIV!

I'm glad that you are looking for direct textual support to back up the answer choice. This is a critical element even for this type of big picture synthesis question.

The main point of this passage is the fundamental description of Mexican muralism: its roots and influences, its essential style and focus. Only (B) weaves in all these elements. The political developments are laid out in the first half of paragraph 1, while the trends in modern art are invoked in paragraph 2. Paragraph 4 discusses the innovations involved in the scale of the art, and the end of paragraph 1 reveals the common focus of the movement to be the culture in which in was born.

You are correct that "modern art" is the name of a specific movement of art. However, while the reference to "freer in expression" could be argued to be a subtle nod to Expressionism (itself a modernist movement of art), the reality is that you don't actually have to know any of this. If you didn't know that 'modern art' was a specific movement, you'd have to take the phrase at face value - and that is precisely what you should do.

Taken at face value, 'modern art' simply means 'art that is happening concurrently with whomever we are discussing'. Whatever current innovations were occurring in the art world that influenced Mexican muralism were, therefore, modern art in the most basic sense of the phrase.


Missing the Point
(A) This focuses entirely on the roots of Mexican muralism. What about all the style and focus information about the movement in paragraphs 3 and 4?
(C) This answer mentions the style of the movement, but only as an element of the revolutionary ideology. What about all the information about muralism's relation to the art world discussed in paragraph 2? Lines 22-24 stress that this art movement is bigger than the revolution that helped trigger it.
(D) Contradictory? Controversial? The major figures certainly developed the movement beyond the initial primary sponsor, this description distorts the results.
(E) No such comparison is ever made, much less the main point of the passage. The muralists are said to have been able to be "freer in expression" than traditional muralists, but this minor strain is not developed any further.

Please let me know if this completely answers your question!