#13 - Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13780)

The correct answer choice is (B)

This Must Be True question concerns Estabrook’s beliefs. As always, passage organization is key: Estabrook’s penchant for planting fake antique photographs in flea markets is described in the second paragraph, and his artistic motivations are discussed in the fourth. Either paragraph can serve as a useful reference point in validating the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (A): It is the photographic processes of the nineteenth century, not their subject matter, that Estabrook found especially striking and interesting. This answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. In the fourth paragraph, Estabrook is described as an artist who is attracted to the unpredictability of old processes (lines 35-36): instead of cropping out the imperfections they produce, he retained them in order to foster the illusion of antiquity. Clearly, Estabrook must believe that artists like himself can relinquish control over the creative process and still produce the aesthetic effects they desire.

Answer choice (C): This answer choice describes how modern-day photographers are using obsolete techniques, not how their predecessors used them in the past. Earlier photographers tried to edit out the imperfections resulting from the use of unpredictable processing (line 41-45). This answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (D): Clearly, Estabrook does not see his own methods as ethically questionable. (Just because you may see them this way does not mean that Estabrook shares your views). This answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (E): Estabrook does not manipulate the photographs he takes: he retains their imperfections so that they appear old and antiquated. We have no reason to suspect that he would view the aesthetic significance of a photograph as contingent upon factors that can be manipulated. This answer choice is incorrect.

[SherryZ]

June 2013 LSA Sec 3 RC, Q13:

I picked C. The correct answer is B.

Could you tell me where to find B in the passage, and why C is WRONG?

Thank you very much!

---Sherry

[Steve Stein]

Hi Sherry,

In the third paragraph of the passage, the author provides that the old techniques that are once again being embraced are unpredictable, which is what appealed to Eastabrook, who "embraces accident...to foster the illusion of antiquity." As referenced in correct answer choice (B), photographers give up some degree of control over the process (since it is not so predictable) and still produce the desired aesthetic (the illusion that such pictures are old).

The problem with answer choice (C) is that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the photographers of that time wanted to get rid of the imperfections and lack of predictability associated with processes of the time (the very same things that modern photographers are now finding appealing).

I hope that's helpful! Please let me know whether this is clear--thanks!

~Steve

[NeverMissing]

I got this question wrong primarily because I did not believe that the common sense definition of the phrase "relinquish control over significant aspects of the process" in answer choice B could be interpreted to apply to the picture-making process itself, but rather to some other living entity—another photographer perhaps. (Relinquishing control to another person is, of course, never mentioned in the passage).

"Relinquish control" implies a sense of agency that I did not think could be appropriately applied to random accidents and mistakes that occur in the photo-making process. After all, the passage indicates that Estabrook seeks out these imperfections and accidents when making photos. This would indicate to me that he is in full control throughout the entirety of the process. Though he may not be able to predict the locations of the imperfections that occur on his photos, he still seeks to make these imperfections occur, and they are a deliberate part of his photography. This seems antithetical to the idea that he has "relinquished control" to the non-sentient whims of the photo-making process. Rather, he exerts ultimate control, purposefully and deliberately using techniques that create imperfections to advance the aesthetic aims of his photography.

Had the answer choice been rephrased thusly I would be entirely in agreement with the answer: "artists can use processes that make it impossible, or near impossible, to predict the final outcome of that process when creating their work and still produce the aesthetic effects they desire."

As you can see, I am having trouble believing that "relinquishing control" is an applicable way of characterizing how Estabrook would view his process, since to relinquish something, you must cede oversight or authority over that thing. Estabrook knows that imperfections and irregularities will occur in his photo-making process. He wants them to occur! He deliberately makes them occur! How could such actions reasonably be construed to mean that he (or any artist who uses similar processes) "relinquish[ed] control over significant aspects of the process?"

Help me Powerscore, you're my only hope.

p.s. I chose E for this one. I can't defend it. I hated all the answers equally and chose E just to be able to move on.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi NeverMissing!

I can certainly understand that the "relinquish control" part of answer choice (B) raises some confusion. So part of your issue seems to be with the role of imperfections. You write:

Though he may not be able to predict the locations of the imperfections that occur on his photos, he still seeks to make these imperfections occur, and they are a deliberate part of his photography. This seems antithetical to the idea that he has "relinquished control" to the non-sentient whims of the photo-making process. Rather, he exerts ultimate control, purposefully and deliberately using techniques that create imperfections to advance the aesthetic aims of his photography.

The "Though he may not be able to predict" part seems crucial. You're right that he's intentionally, deliberately, in ultimate control of choosing a process that will make imperfections. But instead of choosing a photo process that makes more "consistent" results, he chose a process characterized by uncertainty and unpredictability (see lines 30-36). In other words, the passage describes his choice as one of being in control of his choice to choose a photo process that relinquishes his ability to control the predictability of his results.

So when you write:

Estabrook knows that imperfections and irregularities will occur in his photo-making process. He wants them to occur! He deliberately makes them occur!

--that is sort accurate in one respect (he chose a process that would lead to imperfections, he chose not to crop them out). But it seems to equivocate in another respect--since he chose a process characterized by unpredictability and uncertainty with regards to the results (e.g., using "gum bichromate or albumen coatings" may or may not result in stains, but if they do stain, he won't know where those stains will be), he remains unaware as to what the outcome will be. If that's the case, he can't deliberately intend to create the specific, random imperfections that result on each photo, even though he was in control of choosing a process that would increase imperfections generally.

Answer choice (B) gets across that Estabrook could give up predicability and certainty (types of control) in the results while still achieving the aesthetics. It's true that he retains another control that you mention--since he deliberately choses a process likely to lead to imperfections--but that would still be compatible with him relinquishing control in the first sense, which is all that is needed for (B) to be the best answer.

Hope that helps resolve some of the confusion!

[UnicornChainsaw]

Hello!
The passage (line 38-39) indicates that the subject of the picture loses it's meaning over time. It goes on to indicate that Estabrook keeps the imperfections resulting from the development process to increase the nostalgia.

Wouldn't this be the aesthetic significance discussed in answer choice "E"? and since the development of the picture is done after the photograph has been taken, I am trying to find the fault with answer choice E.

Thank you for your help!!

-UC

[Adam Tyson]

Hey there, UC, I think you may be reading a bit more into those lines than is actually there. You're correct that Estabrook leaves the imperfections to increase the sense of nostalgia, but is there anything in the passage that suggests that these imperfections (which are the factors that can be manipulated after the picture is taken, as they can be repaired) are the primary factors that determine aesthetic significance? I see them as being a part of the overall effect, but we are given no information about what else goes into his process. Perhaps the subject, the lighting, the composition of the photograph all matter as much as, or even more than, those imperfections? If he is, in a sense, trying to "pass off" these pictures as being older than they are, might it not be of great importance to him to take pictures of things that have no obvious connection to a particular time period, like still life photos of fruit bowls, or even dress his models in period costumes?

What we know about Estabrook is that the imperfections inherent in the old technologies that he employs enhance his work, in his eyes, and they they have some aesthetic value to him. To stretch from there to saying that they are the primary factors in that value is unsupported by the text of the passage, and so while it might be true, we cannot select that answer as being one that is "based on the information in the passage" as required by the question stem.

Answer B, however, is right on the money. Estabrook is willing, even eager, to let chance play a role in the final outcome of his work, letting imperfections remain when he could have corrected them. In this sense he relinquishes control of the final product, allowing the photos to become whatever it is that they will become on their own, warts and all. Get the picture?

I hope that helps clear it up a bit for you and doesn't leave too many imperfections!

[snowy]

I answered E even though I was wary of “primarily” as mentioned above, because I thought E was still the best of the choices. B was my other contender, but I ruled it out because of the “aesthetic effects THEY desire.” The first half of the sentence (about relinquishing control” is referring to unpredictable stains and imperfections. So, while that might be an effect Estabrook desires, we don’t know that artists in general desire that. In fact, the passage suggests they don’t, or at least in line 43 it says that previous photographers would crop out such imperfections - thus suggesting they don’t want its aesthetic effects.

Where am I going wrong here? Thank you so much in advance!

[Erik Shum]

Hi Snowy,

Keep in mind the permissive language in answer choice (B): "artists can relinquish control" and create their desired product. The answer choice does not indicate that all artists wish to relinquish control or that all artists can achieve their outcome by doing so. But Estabrook is an artist who relinquishes control to create what Estabrook desires, so we can infer that Estabrook believes artists can do so. Estabrook does not necessarily believe that all artists can, or must, do so to create their desired product.

To rephrase the answer choice: Estabrook believes a loss of control does not prohibit the artist from creating their desired product. Estabrook's own work is proof of that.