Many contemporary Indigenous painters practice a specifically Indigenous mode of abstraction; for example, Starr Hardridge often assembles compositions out of motifs common in the traditional beadwork and graphic art of his tribe. In contrast, the prominent Indigenous practitioners of abstract painting during the mid-twentieth century, such as the Southern Cheyenne artist Dick West, typically aligned their compositional strategies with Abstract Expressionism—a school of painting dominated by European American artists—instead of with traditionally nonrepresentational forms of Indigenous art. Thus, in the case of West's generation, the identification of an abstract painting as Indigenous art tends to _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Explanation
Context: Mid-20th-century Indigenous abstract painters like Dick West aligned with Abstract Expressionism (European American school) rather than traditional Indigenous non-representational art. Contemporary Indigenous painters like Hardridge use specifically Indigenous motifs. The blank draws the implication for identifying West-generation work as Indigenous.
Answer: B) depend not on stylistic details but instead on an awareness of the artist's identity...
Why? Since West's generation used Abstract Expressionist style (not distinctively Indigenous style), one can't identify the work as Indigenous by looking at it — you need to know the artist's identity. B follows directly.
Traps:
- A) deny cultural identity's influence → opposite; cultural identity is crucial — it's the only way to identify the work as Indigenous
- C) obscure Indigenous origins of Abstract Expressionist motifs → passage says West aligned WITH AbEx, not that AbEx came from Indigenous sources
- D) emphasize biography over aesthetic merit → the identification relies on artist identity, but framing it as opposing aesthetic merit goes beyond what the passage implies