The passage provides the most support for which one of the following statements about art?

Aidyn on May 27, 2019

Hi I was stuck between a and b

I think a ends up being right because the author intended the harmonious sensations to be applied only to perfume and doesn't say that art also is a combination of harmonious sensations?

1 Reply

Ravi on June 9, 2019


Happy to help. Let's look at (A) and (B). We're looking for the answer
choice that the passage provides the most support for.

(B) says, "In any work of art, one can detect the harmonious
combination of many small sensations."

In the passage, the author states that talented perfume makers can
make great perfumes that have a number of many small sensations, but
the author also admits that sometimes these combinations of sensations
are discordant, lacking harmony (lines 29 to 33). From this, we know
that not all perfumes have a harmonious combination of small
sensations, so we know for sure that not all works of art feature
harmonious combinations of small sensations. Thus, (B) is not
something that's supported by the passage, so it's out.

(A) says, "A work of art can bring about an aesthetic experience
through the memories that it evokes."

At the end of the third paragraph, the author makes the claim that
music, painting, and perfume all create aesthetic value in their
ability to devise imaginary worlds that call on our capacity to
discover a memory of childhood or long-forgotten experience (lines 37
to 43). This is basically saying that great forms of art have the
ability to evoke memories in people, and this is precisely what (A) is
saying. Thus, (A) is supported by the passage and is the correct
answer choice.
