GRE Reading Comprehension

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Source: XDF

When speaking of Romare Bearden, one is tempted to say, "A great Black American artist." The subject matter of Bearden's collages is certainly Black. Portrayals of the folk of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, whom he remembers from early childhood, of the jazz musicians and tenement roofs of his Harlem days, of Pittsburgh steelworkers, and his reconstruction of classical Greek myths in the guise of the ancient Black kingdom of Benin, attest to this. In natural harmony with this choice of subject matter are the social sensibilities of the artist, who remains active today with the Cinque Gallery in Manhattan, which he helped found and which is devoted to showing the work of minority artists.

Then why not call Bearden a Black American artist? Because ultimately this categorization is too narrow. "What stands up in the end is structure," Bearden says. "What I try to do is amplify. If I were just creating a picture of a farm woman from back home, it would have meaning to her and people there. But art amplifies itself to something universal."

Question List: 1 2

According to the passage, which of the following are depicted in Bearden's collages:

  • A workers in Pittsburgh's steel mills
  • B scenes set in the ancient kingdom of Benin
  • C traditional representations of the classical heroes of Greek mythology

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