The question of aesthetics and politics takes on surprising new turns in relation to the medium of the computer. In 1985, the Centre Pompidou opened an exhibit, “The Immaterials,” curated by Jean-François Lyotard that featured the use of computers in art. One installation consisted of several Minitels, each containing a document in which intellectuals, writers, and artists responded to the curator’s request to define certain words (such as freedom, matter, maternal, and so forth). The goal of the installation was to destabilize accepted meanings and to explore the polysemy or “immateriality” of language. While computers were not necessary for the exhibit, they did allow a form of browsing that amplified the exhibit’s purpose. On the screen, words were electronic and presumably became less material. In another room, an installation wired each square of the floor, which was activated by the movement of the participant.

As one walked through the space of the installation, one’s body provided inputs to a computer. Sounds and lights changed based on an algorithm programmed into a computer, transforming the participants’ input into data, and then into sound and light configurations. In both cases, the use of computers facilitated the questioning of the stability or materiality of cultural forms and automatically included the audience in the work of art. Already, the position of the audience had changed from the disinterested contemplation of the traditional gallery of paintings to the distracted participation of computerized art.

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

A) A hypothesis is criticized, and an alternative theory is put forward.
B) An observation is made, then the basis for that observation is explained.
C) A modification of a currently accepted theory is proposed, then the modification is supported.
D) A challenge to a longstanding theory is examined and debunked.
E) A specific instance is explained, then deconstructed.





The author suggests which of the following about the art installation described in the passage?

A) The use of computers was crucial in order to provide a medium with which to expose the multiple meanings of certain words.
B) The content of the exhibit was less important than the experience of the exhibit.
C) Computerized art, by nature, is superior to traditional painting.



In the context in which it appears, “amplified” most nearly means

A) increased
B) added to
C) exaggerated
D) loudened
E) varied