Question

lee quiñones
a brief history for beginners
art
lee quiñones
artist of the new york university art movement
1 lee quiñones is a puerto rican artist who first gained recognition for his graffiti pieces painted on new york subway cars. born in 1960 in ponce, puerto rico, quiñones later moved to the lower east side of new york city, new york, where he was raised. as a teenager in the late 1970s and 1980s, he started “tagging” subway cars. at the time, graffiti was often dismissed as mere vandalism. during that period, new york city was struggling through a time of economic and political instability and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
2 new york’s turmoil led to an era of “urban blight”—a term expressing a mass exodus of caucasians. many who remained were of black, latino, and asian communities. the work of quiñones, like that of many street artists of his generation—many of whom came from black and latino, especially puerto rican, dominican, and cuban communities—was rooted in revolutionary sentiments. it touched on matters of race, class, and gender. the street art community was linked to subcultures in hip - hop, punk, and other new wave movements, which used the streets as a basis for their own expressions and discontent with the status quo. quiñones’ work, like the work of many great street artists, proclaimed a social and political message of protest—through imagery, symbols, composition, phrasing, and also through addressing audiences and venues that were not considered “appropriate” in the mainstream political or art scene. most of quiñones’ early works survive only through sketches and photographic photographs from that time.
3 in his early years, quiñones often painted by moonlight. he used paint markers, spray paint, and added to, or even, transformed compositions which directly questioned and critiqued his viewers’ own. his work also was a commentary on social issues like poverty, racial discrimination, and displacement. he immortalized the works of the new york city graffiti art movement “like lost dreams.” artwork which they care and maybe never see them again. the subway cars would survive a few months at most on the rails before being buffed away by authorities.
what is the role of the first sentence in paragraph 3 of lee quiñones?
a. it emphasizes that quiñones’s success would not have been possible if he had not worked as hard as a street artist
b. it shows that, although quiñones has become a more conventional artist, he still believes in the revolutionary power of street art
c. it demonstrates that quiñones believes that street art has the power to hold on to or even transform
d. it suggests that now that quiñones has achieved mainstream success, he has lost contact with his street art roots

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The text doesn't suggest his success relied on street art origin, so A is incorrect.
• Option B: The passage emphasizes his art's social/political message, not remaining in revolutionary phase, so B is out.
• Option C: The text talks about his art (and street art) reflecting community issues and having impact, matching this option.
• Option D: The passage shows his connection to street art roots, so D is incorrect.

Answer:

C. It demonstrates that Gutierrez believes that street art has the power to hold up a mirror to urban community