The Painter Roy Lichtenstein Helped to Define Pop Art

Reading Passage Question

The painter Roy Lichtenstein helped to define pop art—the movement that incorporated commonplace objects and commercial-art techniques into paintings— by paraphrasing the style of comic books in his work. His merger of a popular genre with the forms and intentions of fine art generated a complex result: while poking fun at the pretensions of the art world, Lichtenstein’s work also managed to convey a seriousness of theme that enabled it to transcend mere parody.

That Lichtenstein’s images were fine art was at first difficult to see, because, with their word balloons and highly stylized figures, they looked like nothing more than the comic book panels from which they were copied. Standard art history holds that pop art emerged as an impersonal alternative to the histrionics of abstract expressionism, a movement in which painters conveyed their private attitudes and emotions using nonrepresentational techniques. The truth is that by the time pop art first appeared in the early 1960s, abstract expressionism had already lost much of its force. Pop art painters weren’t quarreling with the powerful early abstract expressionist work of the late 1940s but with a second generation of abstract expressionists whose work seemed airy, high-minded, and overly lyrical. Pop art paintings were full of simple black lines and large areas of primary color. Lichtenstein’s work was part of a general rebellion against the fading emotional power of abstract expressionism, rather than an aloof attempt to ignore it.

But if rebellion against previous art by means of the careful imitation of a popular genre were all that characterized Lichtenstein’s work, it would possess only the reflective power that parodies have in relation to their subjects. Beneath its cartoonish methods, his work displayed an impulse toward realism, an urge to say that what was missing from contemporary painting was the depiction of contemporary life. The stilted romances and war stories portrayed in the comic books on which he based his canvases, the stylized automobiles, hot dogs, and table lamps that appeared in his pictures, were reflections of the culture Lichtenstein inhabited. But, in contrast to some pop art, Lichtenstein’s work exuded not a jaded cynicism about consumer culture, but a kind of deliberate 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.With the comics— typically the domain of youth and innocence—as his reference point, a nostalgia fills his paintings that gives them, for all their surface bravado, an inner sweetness. His persistent use of comic-art conventions demonstrates a faith in reconciliation, not only between cartoons and fine art, but between parody and true feeling.

“The painter Roy Lichtenstein helped to define pop art” - is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which one of the following most accurately states the main point of the passage?

(A) Lichtenstein’s use of comic book elements in his paintings, considered simply a parodic reaction to the high-mindedness of later abstract expressionism, is also an attempt to re-create the emotionally powerful work of earlier abstract expressionists.
(B) Lichtenstein’s use of comic book elements is not solely a parodic reaction to the high mindedness of later abstract expressionism but also demonstrates an attempt to achieve realistic and nostalgic effects simultaneously in his paintings.
(C) Lichtenstein’s use of comic book elements obscures the emotional complexity contained in his paintings, a situation that has prevented his work from being recognized as fine art in the expressionist tradition.
(D) Lichtenstein’s use of comic book elements appears to mark his paintings as parodic reactions to the whole of abstract expressionism when they are instead a rebellion against the high-mindedness of the later abstract expressionists.
(E) Lichtenstein’s use of comic book elements in his paintings, though a response to the excessive sophistication of the art world, is itself highly sophisticated in that it manages to reconcile pop art and fine art.

2. Which one of the following best captures the author’s attitude toward Lichtenstein’s work?

(A) enthusiasm for its more rebellious aspects
(B) respect for its successful parody of youth and innocence
(C) pleasure in its blatant rejection of abstract expressionism
(D) admiration for its subtle critique of contemporary culture
(E) appreciation for its ability to incorporate both realism and naivete

3. The author most likely lists some of the themes and objects influencing and appearing in Lichtenstein’s paintings (lines 38–43) primarily to

(A) show that the paintings depict aspects of contemporary life
(B) support the claim that Lichtenstein’s work was parodic in intent
(C) contrast Lichtenstein’s approach to art with that of abstract expressionism
(D) suggest the emotions that lie at the heart of Lichtenstein’s work
(E) endorse Lichtenstein’s attitude toward consumer culture

4. Based on the passage, which one of the following would be an example of pop art that is most in keeping with the spirit of Lichtenstein’s work?

(A) a painting that uses realistic techniques to represent several simple objects arranged on a table
(B) a painting that parodies human figures by depicting them as stick figures
(C) a painting that conveys its creator’s inner turmoil through the use of bold lines and primary colors
(D) a painting that employs vague shapes and images to make a statement about consumer culture
(E) a painting that depicts products as they appear in magazine advertisements to comment on society’s values

5. Which one of the following, if true, would most challenge the author’s characterization of Lichtenstein?

(A) Lichtenstein frequently attended exhibitions by abstract expressionist painters in the 1960s.
(B) Lichtenstein praised a contemporary abstract expressionist in the 1960s for producing an atypically emotional painting.
(C) Lichtenstein praised an early abstract expressionist for producing emotional paintings.
(D) Lichtenstein criticized a pop artist in the 1960s for producing emotional paintings.
(E) Lichtenstein criticized a pop artist in the 1960s for producing paintings void of emotion.

6. The primary purpose of the passage is most likely to

(A) express curiosity about an artist’s work
(B) clarify the motivation behind an artist’s work
(C) contrast two opposing theories about an artist’s work
(D) describe the evolution of an artist’s work
(E) refute a previous overestimation of an artist’s work

7. Based on the passage, which one of the following does the author appear to believe about the rebellious aspect of Lichtenstein’s work?

(A) It was directed less against abstract expressionism exclusively than against overly sophisticated art.
(B) It was directed less against later abstract expressionism than against commercial art.
(C) It was directed less against later abstract expressionism exclusively than against abstract expressionism in general.
(D) It was an objection to the consumerism of the culture.
(E) It was an objection to the simplicity of line and color used by pop artists.

8. Based on the passage, which one of the following can most reasonably be inferred about abstract expressionism?

(A) Over time, it moved from abstraction to realism.
(B) Over time, it moved from intensity to lyricism.
(C) Over time, it moved from intellectualism to emotionalism.
(D) Over time, it moved from obscurity to clarity.
(E) Over time, it moved from density to sparseness.

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