RC Question 11 Explanation
DISCUSSION: The main purpose of the passage is to describe the revival of old photographic techniques, and the reasons for the revival.
___________
- Not quite. It’s the artists who make this case. The author just describes why the artists feel the old techniques are valuable.
- Actually, we don’t really know how these old methods are used. All we know is that they take more effort, and they produce less consistent results. But how, specifically, do artists use them? We have no idea.
- CORRECT. The first sentence of paragraph 3 shows that this development is surprising. As photographic technology advances, more photographers are using old techniques. This passage describes the different techniques they use, and some of the reasons why.
- We actually don’t know if these photographers have received critical acclaim. This is never mentioned.
- Nonsense. The author only mentions Bidaut in the first paragraph, to set the scene. And they don’t give much detail on Estabrook either. This passage is really about the general movement towards using older techniques again.
I felt the key word was “primary” purpose; the article tells us how tintypes are used in producing artistic photographs, in that Estabrook exploits their imperfections and Bidaut their dimensionally. Overall though, these are cited as examples of how various old techniques are being revived, rather than specifically tintypes or albumen prints. The thing that made me question B at first was the word “recent” as it did not explicitly mention the time frame over which this revival occurred, or if Estabrook and Biduat were the first to do so, though the use of “avant gardists” seems to imply new and experimental.
There seems to be much more evidence for answer B, than C. Lines 19-22 detail the methods, frequently described as “old,” used in producing contemporary photographs. Further, nowhere does it say that this blast to the past is surprising. One could argue that it is to be expected, since filmless and digital lacks authenticity.
To detail the method = list the methods
But B says “details of” the methods. That means information about the methods. For instance, I’m writing this comment on a Macbook air, from my living room. It’s two in the afternoon, and the October LSAT busy season is over, so now I’m getting to comments on my site.
Those are details *about* what I’m doing. The passage provides no information like that about old methods. It just says *which* methods are being revived.
I think you have to use common sense + lines 17-18 to support C. Our culture has an ethos of an onwards march of technology and social progress. See the whig theory of history. The revival of old techniques often surprises people, and lines 17-18 hint at that by stating we are on the verge of a digital, filmless revolution.
Don’t nitpick answers too much. If C didn’t have the word “surprising”, you’d have no reason to quibble with it. Also note that this passage is from 2013, when hipsterism was newer and more surprising.
“an image is captured on a thin, coated piece of iron (there’s no tin in it), which provides the detail and dimensionality she wanted. The image-containing emulsion also creates a raised surface on the plate, which an photographer in the 18th century would have cut out”
— how is this not “how a method was used”?? I don’t know how I would possibly in the future avoid getting a question with this level of hair-splitting correct in the future.
… and that is just one example! there is also talk about coating with egg whites and a couple other examples of not just “what” style of photography printing was used, but very much “how” they are employed.
The problem is that what you laid out is not the primary purpose of the passage. That point of the passage is that a group of hobby photographeres are reviving old techniques for their aesthetic effects. It is this intention which is important, rather than the details of the techniques. Primary purpose answers will be true, but they need to be more than that.
Reading the first half of the first paragraph and the 2nd half of the final paragraph can help clarify the purpose. On this passage it very much does, e.g. “Old methods….recover an intimacy with photographic communication….”
Note: This is an old comment but I wanted to clarify the point.