Question

1. lee quinones

lee quinones 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, quinones later
moved to the lower east side of new york, 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
demanded as more vandalism. during that period, new york city was struggling through a
time of economic and political instability and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
new yorks turmoil led to an era of \white flight\-a term expressing a mass exodus of
caucasians. many who remained were of black, latino, and asian communities. the work of
quinones, like that of many street artists of his generation-most of whom came from black
and latino, especially puerto rican, dominican, and cuban communities-was rooted in
revolutionary sentiments. it tended to touch 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 forum for their own expression and discontent with
the status quo. quinoness work, like the work of many great street artists, emphasized a
social and political message of protest-through imagery, symbols, composition, phrases,
and also through embracing materials and venues that were not considered appropriate in
the mainstream political or art scene. most of quinoness early works survive only through
sketches and instamatic photographs from that time.
3
in his early years, quinones often painted by moonlight. he used paint markers, spray paint,
and alcohol to create wild, fantastical, often jarring compositions which directly questioned
and criticized the vietnam war. his work also was a commentary on social issues like
part b: which detail from the text best supports your answer from part a?
a. the graffiti was used as an act of solidarity-american soldiers were letting other soldiers
who would come after them know that they were not alone in the fight.
b. their art often accompanied a political or identity-inclusive message, such as theaquals
depictions of black people wearing crowns, giving the figure a sense of royalty that is so
regularly denied to black people in the u.s.
c. often used their art to make political statements against the massive structure and the
unfair division it represented.
d. because graffiti, with exceptions, has historically been considered by some to be vandalism
and destruction of public property reverse graffiti challenges that notion, as artists create
their graffiti through cleaning.

Explanation:

The text describes how Lee Quinones and other artists used subway cars (tagging) as a form of expression. It mentions that during a time of economic and political instability (late 1970s - 1980s), New York City was struggling, and subway cars became a canvas. This provided an outlet for marginalized groups (like Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans etc. - part of the Latino community which was rooted in revolutionary sentiments, and linked to subcultures like hip - hop, punk) to express their identities. The other options (A, B, C) do not directly relate to providing an outlet for marginalized groups' identity expression. Option A is about solidarity but not specifically identity expression for marginalized groups. Option B is about Black people in the U.S. (too narrow as the text is more about a broader Latino and other marginalized groups context in New York). Option C is about political statements against unfair division (not the main focus of providing an identity outlet).

Answer:

D. It provided an outlet for marginalized groups to express their identities.