'Gestures' in painting are typically thought of as bold, expressive brushstrokes. In the 1970s, American painter Jack Whitten built a...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
'Gestures' in painting are typically thought of as bold, expressive brushstrokes. In the 1970s, American painter Jack Whitten built a 12-foot (3.7-meter) tool he named the 'developer' to apply paint to an entire canvas in one motion, resulting in his series of 'slab' paintings from that decade. Whitten described this process as making an entire painting in 'one gesture,' signaling a clear departure from the prevalence of gestures in his work from the 1960s. Some art historians claim this shift represents 'removing gesture' from the process. Therefore, regardless of whether using the developer constitutes a gesture, both Whitten and these art historians likely agree that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
any tool that a painter uses to create an artwork is capable of creating gestures.
Whitten's work from the 1960s exhibits many more gestures than his work from the 1970s does.
Whitten became less interested in exploring the role of gesture in his work as his career progressed.
Whitten's work from the 1960s is much more realistic than his work from the 1970s is.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Gestures' in painting are typically thought of as bold, expressive brushstrokes. |
|
| In the 1970s, American painter Jack Whitten built a 12-foot (3.7-meter) tool he named the 'developer' to apply paint to an entire canvas in one motion, resulting in his series of 'slab' paintings from that decade. |
|
| Whitten described this process as making an entire painting in 'one gesture,' signaling a clear departure from the prevalence of gestures in his work from the 1960s. |
|
| Some art historians claim this shift represents 'removing gesture' from the process. |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Jack Whitten's shift from traditional painting gestures in the 1960s to using his developer tool in the 1970s represents a significant change in his artistic approach.
Argument Flow: The passage first defines traditional painting gestures, then describes Whitten's technical innovation in the 1970s and how both he and art historians interpret this change differently, before asking what both perspectives would agree on regarding this shift.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- We need something both sides would accept as true
- Whitten says he went from 'prevalence of gestures' in the 1960s to 'one gesture' in the 1970s
- Art historians say he went from gestures to 'removing gesture'
- Both perspectives acknowledge that something changed between these two decades - specifically that there were more traditional gestures in the 1960s compared to the 1970s approach
- The key common ground is the direction of change: both agree that Whitten's 1960s work involved more of what we typically call 'gestures' compared to his 1970s technique
any tool that a painter uses to create an artwork is capable of creating gestures.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims any tool can create gestures
- Goes beyond what either side discusses - they're focused on Whitten's specific change, not general tool capabilities
- Neither perspective makes this broad claim about all painting tools
Whitten's work from the 1960s exhibits many more gestures than his work from the 1970s does.
✓ Correct
- States 1960s work has many more gestures than 1970s work
- Matches both interpretations: Whitten went from 'prevalence of gestures' to 'one gesture,' historians say he went to 'removing gesture'
- Both sides acknowledge the 1960s involved more traditional gestural activity
Whitten became less interested in exploring the role of gesture in his work as his career progressed.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims Whitten became less interested in gesture over time
- Makes assumption about Whitten's motivations and interests
- The passage describes technique change, not interest level - Whitten might still be very interested in gesture but approaching it differently
Whitten's work from the 1960s is much more realistic than his work from the 1970s is.
✗ Incorrect
- Compares realism between decades
- Completely unrelated to the gesture discussion in the passage
- Neither Whitten nor historians mention anything about realistic vs. non-realistic approaches