The stated goal of the government's funding program for the arts is to encourage the creation of works of artistic ex...

Mehran August 18, 2016

@Melissa first, it is important to remember that this is a Strengthen with Necessary Premise question, not a Must Be True question.

Furthermore, the definition of "contemporary art" is art that is produced at the present period of time, which is what this stimulus is about (i.e. the creation of works of artistic excellence).

With that in mind, let's take a closer look.

The Senator's conclusion here is, "government funding of the arts not only is a burden on taxpayers but also cannot lead to the creation of works of true artistic excellence."

Why? Because "government-funded artwork can never reflect the independent artistic conscience of the artist because artists, like anyone else who accepts financial support, will inevitably try to please those who control the distribution of that support."

(E) states, "A contemporary work of art that does not reflect the independent artistic conscience of the artist cannot be a work of true artistic excellence."

This clearly strengthens the Senator's argument by tying the premise (i.e. not reflect independent artistic conscience) to the conclusion (i.e. not work of true artistic excellence).

Now let's negate to make sure that (E) is also necessary to the Senator's argument.

The negation of (E) is, "A contemporary work of art that does not reflect the independent artistic conscience of the artist CAN be a work of true artistic excellence."

This clearly destroys the Senator's argument so (E) is the correct answer.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

rweyer April 8, 2018

I narrowed it down to A and E.
Would A be incorrect because the conclusion speaks about it being a BURDEN on tax payers and A talks about taxpayers having little or no interest?