#11 - Concept Reference, Parallel

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=12785)

The correct answer choice is (C)

The passage established that Cameron’s work is characterized by a combination of amateurish production and artistry. Our prephrase for this question is that the correct answer choice will describe a scenario in which a work has both characteristics.

Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect because the author implied that the peculiarities of Cameron’s work were unintentional, unlike the conscious introduction of incongruous elements by the playwright described in this answer choice.

Answer choice (B): In this case, the rapper intentionally uses contradictory elements to convey deeper meaning. However, Cameron did not use internally contradictory materials, and her use of amateurish, incongruous materials was not intended to convey a separate meaning.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. Just like the sculptor makes works out of ordinary objects, Cameron used ordinary household items as props in her pictures (e.g., brooms used to represent oars). Also, despite this use of ordinary items, the author tells us that Cameron’s works are treasures, just like the sculptor’s works “possess a certain grandeur.”

Answer choice (D): Although it is true that Cameron’s approach was quite functional in terms of the props she used in her pictures, this answer choice does not reference the artistry of her work.

Answer choice (E): This is a tricky answer choice, because we know that Cameron used ordinary people in her photographs. However, she did not use ordinary people to create the illusion of reality. Rather, those were simply the people she had available. Also, her objective was not to represent ordinary life, but rather to depict fictional scenes.

[Cking14]

Hi,

I chose answer choice (E) for this question. The correct answer for this question is (C). I didn't see where the author was referring to Cameron having any "grandeur" to her works. With (E), it made sense to me that the ordinary people that Cameron used in her photographs, along with the fact that they were in situations that people could relate to, made answer choice (E) a better choice. Can someone please explain why (C) is superior to (E) in this case?

Thanks!
Chris

[David Boyle]

Hi,

I chose answer choice (E) for this question. The correct answer for this question is (C). I didn't see where the author was referring to Cameron having any "grandeur" to her works. With (E), it made sense to me that the ordinary people that Cameron used in her photographs, along with the fact that they were in situations that people could relate to, made answer choice (E) a better choice. Can someone please explain why (C) is superior to (E) in this case?

Thanks!
Chris

Hello Cking14,

Cameron was not trying to be ordinary; the ordinariness happened despite her efforts, providing tension. So answer C, "a sculptor whose works possess a certain grandeur even though they are clearly constructed out of ordinary objects", is most apropos to that.
And it's "a certain grandeur", not normal grandeur. So even though the stimulus doesn't ascribe conventional grandeur to Cameron's photos, it does accord "a certain" respect to them.
Answer E implies that the artist was aiming for the ordinary; but again, Cameron's works had a little more ordinariness than she intended.

Hope this helps,
David

[JustKeepStudying]

Hello!

I chose E for this question due to the mention of ordinary objects and a documentary. At the start of paragraph the author says that "the camera's realism... has given Cameron's theatricality and artificiality its atmosphere of truth" I correlated an atmosphere of truth with the appearance of a documentary because documentaries are non-fictional. Is this incorrect because it describes the authors perception of Cameron rather than Cameron's own relation to her pictures?

Thanks,
Just Keep Studying

[JustKeepStudying]

** Correction, I meant to say "I chose E for this question due to the mention of ordinary actors and a documentary. "

[Jennifer Janowsky]

Hello JustKeepStudying,

This is an excellent question. In this case, I believe the answer (E) is incorrect in part because while the documentary artist's decision to use normal actors was an artistic one, Cameron's use of ordinary people as models was not. The quote "the camera's realism... has given Cameron's theatricality and artificiality its atmosphere of truth" was meant to show how Cameron's art was perceived, not how it was intended to be perceived. It seems that Cameron used her models because they were what was available to her.

Meanwhile, the sculptor described in the correct answer choice, like Cameron, was not said to have used ordinary objects as a purely artistic decision.

Thanks for your question!

[medialaw111516]

I chose C for this one, which ended up being correct, but I think I chose it for the wrong reason. My prephrase was that the correct answer would be someone trying to make one thing but unintentionally creating something else. I also thought it might include something ordinary or real getting in the way of achieving seamless or high quality work. I chose C because I was thinking his work was perceived as grand when really he just made it out of ordinary stuff, not because of the parallel grandeur/ special quality element used in the explanation here. Just want to make sure I'm not going about this the wrong way.

[James Finch]

Hi Media Law,

The key takeaway from the passage, as exemplified by the barge photo in paragraph 3, is that Cameron created grandiose or fantastical pictures out of ordinary objects and situations, and that the low-budget aesthetic is clearly present. That's what lends her work importance, according to the passage, so we have to make a note of this. So in Prephrasing this question, we want to look for an answer choice that reflects creation of grandiose spectacle out of obviously ordinary objects or conditions. (C) and only (C) gives us this, making it correct.

Hope this helps!