contemporary work of art

This topic has expert replies
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 94
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Bangalore, India
Thanked: 2 times
Followed by:5 members

contemporary work of art

by amar66 » Fri May 27, 2011 9:32 pm
We commonly speak of aesthetic judgments as subjective, and in the short term they are, since critics often disagree about the value of a particular contemporary work of art. But over time, the subjective element disappears. When works of art have continued to delight audiences for centuries, as have the paintings of Michelangelo, the music of Bach, and the plays of Shakespeare, we can objectively call them great.

The statements above best support which of the following conclusions?
(A) When Michelangelo, Bach, and Shakespeare were alive, critics disagreed about the value of their work.
(B) The value of a contemporary work of art cannot be objectively measured.
(C) The reputation of a work of art often fluctuates greatly from one generation to the next.
(D) The mere fact that a work of art has endured for centuries does not establish its greatness.
(E) If critics agree about the value of a particular cotemporary work of art, then the work can objectively be called great.

The OA is B but I feel that B goes beyond the scope of the argument and A is a better fit. May someone please explain why B is a better choice?

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 439
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 8:32 am
Location: India
Thanked: 34 times
Followed by:28 members

by sivaelectric » Fri May 27, 2011 9:59 pm
amar66 wrote:We commonly speak of aesthetic judgments as subjective, and in the short term they are, since critics often disagree about the value of a particular contemporary work of art. But over time, the subjective element disappears. When works of art have continued to delight audiences for centuries, as have the paintings of Michelangelo, the music of Bach, and the plays of Shakespeare, we can objectively call them great.

The statements above best support which of the following conclusions?
(A) When Michelangelo, Bach, and Shakespeare were alive, critics disagreed about the value of their work.
(B) The value of a contemporary work of art cannot be objectively measured.
(C) The reputation of a work of art often fluctuates greatly from one generation to the next.
(D) The mere fact that a work of art has endured for centuries does not establish its greatness.
(E) If critics agree about the value of a particular cotemporary work of art, then the work can objectively be called great.
My choice is B and my guess why A is not the answer is that it speaks about the only the three persons and that can't be a conclusion. We are speaking about the Art. Am I right, Correct me if I am wrong. :)
If I am wrong correct me :), If my post helped let me know by clicking the Thanks button ;).

Chitra Sivasankar Arunagiri

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1309
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:34 am
Location: India
Thanked: 310 times
Followed by:123 members
GMAT Score:750

by cans » Fri May 27, 2011 10:39 pm
The value of a contemporary work of art cannot be objectively measured.
But in the question it says,
When works of art have continued to delight audiences for centuries, as have the paintings of Michelangelo, the music of Bach, and the plays of Shakespeare, we can objectively call them great.
Isn't it some kind of measurement only?