Q9

[mcrittell]

I'm having trouble finding the text to support any form of attitude for these ACs.

[LSAT-Chang]

Here are some parts within the passage where I found subtle hints of the author's attitude:

5-10 = having both qualities seems to be quite intriguing

27-30 = author sort of defends Lichtenstein's work

31-38 = author seems to be intrigued by the idea that it not only possesses the reflective power of parodies but an impulse towards realism

43-51 = "an inner sweetness"

Basically, there is no negative connotation in the passage, and just the fact that the author is going into this much detail about Lichtenstein's work without criticizing any of them, it seems like the author appreciates his approach to pop art.

(A) - "enthusiasm" seemed too strong. We definitely have no evidence to support this.
(B) - I liked the first part about "respect" but it seems like the author is more interested in how the work portrays "realism" more so than "parody of youth and innocence"
(C) - author does not feel pleasure in its blatant rejection of abstract expressionism (how negative!)
(D) - I liked the word "admiration" but the author does not admire Lichtenstein's work for subtly critiquing contemporary culture
(E) - Yay! We have "appreciation" which is not too strong but not too neutral, and we have evidence to support the idea that the author appreciates the work incorporating both realism and naivete (the last paragraph clearly supports "realism" and "naivete")

Hope this helps!

[bfleisch123]

Just to add to this, I actually picked (d) when I took this test; however, there is a subtle distinction made in the passage.

Beginning at line 35:
"Beneath its cartoonish methods, his work displayed an impluse toward realism, an urge to say waht what was missing form contemporary painting was the depiction of contemporary life. The stilted romances and war [...] that appeared in his pictures, were reflections of the culture Lictenstein inhabited. BUT, IN CONTRAST TO SOME POP ART, LICHTENSTEIN'S WORK EXUDED NOT A JADED CYNICISM ABOUT CONSUMER CULTURE, but a kind of deliberative naivete, intended as a response to the excess of sophistication he observed not only in the later abstract expressionists but in some other pop artists."

The author argues then, that Lichtenstein's work is not, as is the case with his contemporaries, a critique of culture, but rather a critque of the particular artistic medium (specifically excess of sophistication), and he presents this critique through the incorporation of realism and naivete.

Therefore, (d) doesn't work. Also, understood in this way, Question # 14 makes much more sense, as (A) seems like the only suitable answer, particularly because (d) is wrong for very similar reason (i.e. Lichtenstein never "objects to" or "critiques" culture, but rather excess sophisticaton, broadly construed).

[zainrizvi]

I think it's key to realize that attitude, main point and purpose are all intimately linked. The reason I rejected (A) was because it's obvious that the author thinks Lichtenstein's work is MORE than just rebelliousness (i.e. all that part about nostalgia and stuff) -- it would be weird if that best captures the authors attitude... especially since other choices are more representative of the main point (i.e. realism and naivete). Also, there was no explicit support for enthusiasm.

The only really tone/attitude shown in the passage is in the beginning ("helped to define Pop art") and the bottom where his work has an "inner sweetness". This inner sweetness relates to the realism and naivete portion above... albeit a bit indirectly

[VickX462]

In general, the author's attitude towards RL's painting could be described as positive. My process of elimination went the following way:

(A) The author thinks that RL's paintings serve a purpose extending beyond mere rebellion (31-35). Thus, the author is enthusiastic about not only RL's rebellion but also his critique of the excess of sophistication. Eliminate.

(B) The passage only mentions that comics is "the domain of youth and innocence" (49); it does not mention that RL is parodying the topics of youth and innocence. Eliminate.

(C) "Pleasure" and "blatant rejection"? Way too strong! Eliminate.

(D) "Admiration" is quite strong. Furthermore, line 45 says that rather than going against the consumer culture, RL is criticizing the excess of sophistication in some forms of arts.

(E) Spot-on. This is similar to the author's opinion in line 6-10. Support could be found in line 7-10; line 52-55.