Question 99·Hard·Inferences
Art critic Jane O’Leary writes that the latest digital-painting exhibition “simulates the impulsive brushstrokes of plein-air canvases while in fact operating on the invisible rails of code.” Each artwork, she explains, is generated by an algorithm that the artist has programmed to introduce a degree of random variation, but only within boundaries the artist also sets. According to O’Leary, this design “invites viewers to ask whether the author of the image is the machine making countless micro-decisions or the human who determined the range of possible outcomes in advance.”
Based on the passage, O’Leary would most likely agree that genuine spontaneity in these digital paintings ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference completion questions like this, first underline the key descriptive phrases around the blank, then paraphrase what the author is saying in your own words—especially any contrast (seems X but actually Y). Before looking at choices, form a rough prediction (for example, “looks spontaneous but is controlled and limited”). Then eliminate any option that (1) contradicts the passage’s tone or details, (2) introduces new ideas not mentioned, or (3) exaggerates beyond what’s supported. Choose the answer that most directly restates or logically extends what the passage already implies.
Hints
Look at the contrast in the critic’s first sentence
Reread the phrase “simulates the impulsive brushstrokes … while in fact operating on the invisible rails of code.” What is she contrasting about how the paintings look versus how they actually function?
Focus on the algorithm’s “randomness” and its limits
Pay attention to “introduce a degree of random variation, but only within boundaries the artist also sets.” How does this affect how truly “spontaneous” the paintings can be?
Use the authorship question as a clue
The critic asks whether the author is the machine making many small decisions or the human who set the range of outcomes. What does this tell you about how much control the artist still has over what seems random?
Eliminate answers that ignore the passage’s limits on randomness
Reject any choice that treats the digital paintings as equally spontaneous as traditional ones, minimizes the artist’s role entirely, or treats the machine’s micro-decisions as unconstrained—since the passage stresses that variation happens only within boundaries the artist sets.
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the key description of the paintings
Focus on the sentences that explain how the digital paintings are made:
- They “simulate the impulsive brushstrokes of plein-air canvases while in fact operating on the invisible rails of code.”
- Each artwork is “generated by an algorithm that the artist has programmed to introduce a degree of random variation, but only within boundaries the artist also sets.”
These lines contrast appearance (impulsive, spontaneous) with reality (controlled by code and boundaries).
Understand what this implies about spontaneity
If the algorithm includes “random variation,” the images look unpredictable. But the passage clearly says that randomness happens “only within boundaries the artist also sets” and that the work runs on “invisible rails of code.”
This means the paintings are not fully free or truly impulsive—whatever seems spontaneous is happening inside limits the artist already defined.
Connect to the question’s wording
The question asks what O’Leary would say about genuine spontaneity in these digital paintings.
Given the description, her view would have to include both:
- that there is some randomness or apparent spontaneity, and
- that it is constrained or shaped by the artist’s preset rules and ranges.
So we are looking for a choice that captures this tension between seeming spontaneity and underlying control.
Evaluate each answer choice against the passage
Now compare the choices to that idea:
- One choice claims the spontaneity is the same as traditional hand-painted works, but O’Leary says the digital works only simulate impulsive brushstrokes and are on “rails of code.” That suggests a difference, not equivalence.
- Another suggests the human artist’s role becomes negligible, but O’Leary explicitly highlights the human’s role in “determin[ing] the range of possible outcomes in advance,” so the artist remains important.
- A third suggests spontaneity is mainly the machine’s doing, but O’Leary emphasizes that the machine’s decisions occur within limits the human artist set.
- The remaining choice states that the spontaneity is limited or not fully real because the randomness cannot go beyond what the artist programmed.
The last description matches the passage’s idea that the work appears spontaneous but is restricted by the artist’s parameters, so “is partly illusory because the apparent randomness cannot exceed parameters chosen by the artist.” is the correct answer.