2017 RI KI Y6 CT2 P2

This document consists of 4 printed pages [Turn over RAFFLES INSTITUTION 2017 Year 6 Term 3 Common Test Higher 2 Knowledge and Inquiry 9759/02 Paper 2 Critical Thinking 29 June 2017 2 hours Additional Materials: Answer Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Do not turn this sheet over until you are told to do so. Write your name and CT group on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black ink. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid/tape. SECTION A Answer Question 1. SECTION B Answer any two questions. At the end of the examination, fasten your answers to each section separately. You will be asked to submit your answer to each section separately. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

2 RI 2017 YEAR 6 KI TERM 3 CT P2 Section A You must answer Question 1. 1 How exactly is art valuable? There are those who argue that the value of art depends on its representation of reality, for it reliably portrays what is going on. Others argue that mere mimesis is insufficient; the emotional and mental states of individuals or the responses we have about the sublime cannot be represented in paintings that merely take a ‘snapshot’ of what people commonly see – landscapes, seascapes, portraits, or even bowls of fruit. Isn’t the function of art, they claim, to get people to think about life at a deeper level or to highlight issues or areas of concern that we, as a society, should focus more attention on? Even if the value of art does not depend on representing reality accurately, we might say that art is in some way about reality if it conveys some kind of ‘knowledge’ or ‘truth’. For example, Picasso’s Guernica shows us the horror and awfulness of war. This is the ‘message’ that people come away with. Grünewald’s The Crucifixion has a huge symbolic meaning in the Christian understanding of God, human life and our place in the universe. Grünewald is not simply evoking sorrow and anguish, but a religious message as well. What an artwork informs us of, then, is a vision of the world – some knowledge or truth expressed in a deeper way than reality can. What do we mean of the artist’s vision, and what does it inform us of? We can start by thinking about idealization. Palma Vecchio’s A Blonde Woman is not a portrait of any particular woman, but an expression of the ideal woman, or the ideal of ‘woman’ – as Palma Vecchio imagines it. Many Renaissance artists consciously sought to represent what was ideal – indeed, this is how art conveys truth. That something is ideal is an expression of human judgment. So understanding something as an expression of an ideal contributes to self -understanding. Or, an ideal may illuminate our experience, e.g. by operating as a standard against which we measure experience. A different way art may express ‘truth’ is through the attention it pays