Question 7·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
Text 1
Art historian Celia Mora argues that clusters of three blue rectangles in Leandro Saye’s harbor paintings from 1911 to 1913 represent a signal used by dockworkers. A harbor handbook states that three blue flags flown vertically indicated an unsafe berth, and several of Saye’s paintings place the rectangles near piers involved in a labor dispute. Mora concludes that Saye used the recurring motif systematically to comment on hazardous working conditions.
Text 2
Conservator Arun Deol examined Saye’s paintings with infrared imaging and consulted the artist’s notebooks. In five of the seven paintings containing the rectangles, the blue pigment covers orange guide blocks located where they counterbalance large red forms on the opposite side of the canvas. A notebook entry describes adding “cool blocks to quiet the crowded edge.” In the other two paintings, however, the rectangles appear in the initial charcoal layouts beside accurately rendered signal masts. One of those paintings was begun shortly after Saye visited a pier where a harbor log records that the unsafe-berth signal had been displayed, although none of Saye’s notes connects the motif to the labor dispute.
Which choice best describes how Text 2 responds to the interpretation presented in Text 1?
For a cross-text question, divide Text 1’s position into its component claims and test each against all of Text 2’s evidence. Pay particular attention to scope words such as “all,” “systematically,” and “sometimes”: mixed evidence often supports a qualified response rather than complete agreement or complete rejection.
Hints
Separate the parts of the interpretation
Consider whether Text 1 is making a claim about every occurrence of the motif, its meaning, its purpose, or some combination of these.
Compare the two groups of paintings
Ask what the physical evidence suggests about the five paintings and how the remaining two differ.
Avoid conclusions broader than the evidence
Distinguish between evidence that permits a possible interpretation in some cases and evidence that establishes one interpretation for the entire series.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify Text 1’s full interpretation
Text 1 makes a broad claim about the recurring motif: the rectangles represent an unsafe-berth signal throughout the paintings and serve as sustained commentary on hazardous labor conditions.
Evaluate the evidence from most paintings
In five of the seven paintings, the rectangles cover guide blocks positioned to balance forms elsewhere in the composition. The notebook’s reference to using “cool blocks” to adjust a crowded edge further supports a compositional explanation for those instances.
Account for the exceptional evidence
In two paintings, the rectangles were planned from the beginning and placed beside signal masts. Because one painting followed Saye’s visit to a pier where the unsafe-berth signal had appeared, those instances may have a referential purpose. Still, the absence of any note connecting the motif to the labor dispute prevents this limited evidence from establishing Text 1’s systematic political interpretation.