2025 RI Y6 GP TP P1 Suggested Points

Raffles Institution 2025 Y6 General Paper Timed Practice Paper 1 1 1. ‘Art is only worth what people will pay for it.’ Do you agree? Terms and Scope • Implied assumption made that the value of an artwork is solely encapsulated in its price tag or monetary value. Candidates should attempt to refute or question this absolute perspective. • ‘Art’: Includes suitable genres of the arts, such as paintings, photography, music/dance performance, theatre, literature and more (art that can be bought). For the purposes of this discussion, it is important to choose art genres wisely: choosing to discuss genres like pop music or movies as representation of ‘art’ shows a shallow understanding of the topic, and conveniently misses out the idea o f people being ‘willing to pay for such art’. Less clear -cut examples of art such as multimedia installations an d cultural performances can be accepted as long as the artistic qualities/elements of these examples are surfaced and properly discussed • ‘only’: Some engagement with the absolute term is required as the question is making an extreme claim about art, price and value. • ‘worth’: Refers to the larger value/significance of art, both tangibly (practical contributions to the society in the form of enhanced well -being and social cohesion) or intangibly (historical/cultural/artistic). • ‘what people are willing to pay for it’: Specifically, the price of a piece of art or its market value. The price of a piece of art though, may not always be the same as its economic value, because of its potential to influence trends and fuel industry growth. Band 4 & above Band 3 • Addresses ‘only’ through explaining why this view fails to recognise other forms of value that art has or why it does not acknowledge exceptions. • Addresses the relationship or contrast between different forms of value art has and how much people are willing to pay for it, perhaps through analysing the inability of the latter to fully express the worth of art. • Lists the general benefits/value of art or lack thereof without relating them to art’s price tag. • Valid perspectives but may be restricted/inconsistent in scope (for instance, definition of worth is limited to ways where art is personally valuable to individuals without a broader consideration of larger functions Low Band 3 • There could be poor awareness or unrealistic and even flawed ideas of what constitutes art or worth. • Response may be limited to anecdotal examples. Yes, the worth of art is derived from its price tag: 1. Art, being a highly subjective entity, has no intrinsic worth on its own and thus, its value is necessarily assigned by its viewer/audience and how much they are willing to pay for it. Art auctions operate with that concept in mind, and often these auctions set new standards and benchmarks for what constitutes ‘worthy’ or fine art of that time; without the price tag to serve as an indicator of what an artwork is worth, measuring its value would be practically impossible, given how disparate assessments of artistic and/or cultural merit from different sources would likely be. o Abstract painter Mark Rothko’s “Orange, red, yellow”, which is a rather simple painting consisting of blocks of red and yellow painted on an orange background, fetched an astounding figure of $86.9 million in a 2012 auction . British artist Tracey Emin’s My Bed, an installation artwork consisting of her unmade bed, sold for 2.2 million pounds

Raffles Institution 2025 Y6 General Paper Timed Practice Paper 1 2 in 2014. And in 2024, Crypto investor Justin Sun paid $6.2 million for a banana duct - taped to a wall, an absurdist installation artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. o In each case, the art concerned appears to possess little intrinsic or artistic worth , apart from the high amount each buyer was willing to pay. The highly subjective nature of art meant that some struggle to recognise the worth of these artworks whereas those who chose to purchase them at those prices evidently do. 2. Given the capitalistic structure of our society, the price tag of an artwork sometimes informs us of its social or artistic significance or worth. Artworks that fetch a high price are quite often known or accepted amongst aficionados for their rarity, exceptional skill or concept, or historical and cultural significance. o “Salvator Mundi” was sold in 2017 for $450.3 million, making it the most expensive painting to be ever sold in history. The astonishing price tag attached to this art piece is somewhat understandable given the historical significance of this painting and i ts intricate and complex artistry by renowned artist Leonardo da Vinci. No, art has tremendous worth/value that is not simply derived from its price tag: 1. Art has immense historical/cultural value in its capacity to depict, conserve, and pass on the core beliefs of societies. This value has little to do with how much people are willing to pay for a piece of art, since it is difficult to quantify cultural value in financial terms . In fact, it can be argued that putting a price tag on art cheapens and unnecessarily commodifies its priceless contributions to culture and history. o For instance, indigenous paintings and performances are widely celebrated and embraced in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada for being essential in passing down valuable cultural knowledge and practices from their Aboriginal communities, even if such art may not always fetch high prices. o Works by indigenous artists Muriel Miguel and SJ Norman are revered by many for their artworks that honour the continued existence of the indigenous populations in gentrified urban areas. 2. Art also possesses tremendous social worth as a medium to prompt personal and societal reflection about social issues, facilitate social conversations/dialogue about the status quo, and even spark positive social change. The social value of art, which increases along with greater accessibility and relatability, is in fact inversely proportional to the price people are willing to pay to own it. o For instance, there are numerous examples of art with socially beneficial messages, whose social impact is magnified by greater accessibility. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s public refugee life jacket installation on the pillars of the Konzerthaus Berlin was striking and notable to say the least , as the massive display sought to highlight the severity of the ongoing refugee crisis. The sculpture titled “Non -violence” created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward after the murder of John Lennon has also risen to become a symbol of the ongoing struggle for non-violence and the fight for gun control worldwide. It was purchased by the Luxembourg government and donated to the United Nations.

Raffles Institution 2025 Y6 General Paper Timed Practice Paper 1 3 2. Examine the view that competition is necessary in today's world. Terms and Scope • ‘competition’: The act of pursuing excellence for the purpose of gaining an advantage over other who are striving for similar goals. This could take place between individuals, or broader communities, such as organisations and even countries . This could include individuals seeking to get ahead of their peers in the educational arms race or professionally in the workplace; businesses attempting to capture a larger share of the market; and nations competing for highly talented or skilled workers or for scare natural resources. Examples may also include sportspeople and athletes competing for national pride. • ‘necessary’: Acknowledges that some degree of competition is – beyond being beneficial – essential and inescapable, based on today’s context. • ‘today’s world’: May identify relevant conditions or characteristics of today’s world that may heighten the need for competition, rangi