Though artist Chuck Close has devoted his life to portraiture, his paintings rarely comport with that genre's traditional purpose. His early photorealist images, which are created by overlaying a grid on a photograph and painstakingly copying the image cell by cell, are, to the naked eye, nearly undifferentiable from photographs. Furthermore, Close's emphasis is on the disembodied head itself, expressionless and devoid of any overt personality. He has never acceded to commissions, relying on both his own image and his friends as models. In 1988, a collapsed spinal artery caused almost total paralysis, but Close has continued to work. His freer paintings evince a natural extension of an augmented interest in the minute grid over the total work that predated his illness. This non-privileging of any particular part of the canvas finds its inspiration, oddly enough, in abstract expressionism, despite the apparent inconsonance of the two techniques.

What is the author’s intent when discussing Close’s focus on the head of his subjects?

A. The author compares the artistic impact of photographs of heads to that of abstract photographs of the same head.
B. The author ruminates on what early experiences led to Close’s focus on the head as a unifying theme in his work.
C. The author expounds upon how, by not accepting commissions,Close’s work has remained free of commercial influences.
D. The author deconstructs the impact that Close’s illness had on the content of his paintings.
E. The author believes that Close’s approach of depicting the head but none of the personality of the subject is rare.

Consider each of the following answer choices separately and select all that apply.

Which of the following statements are supported by the passage?

A. Close’s portraits are so realistic that they are sometimes mistaken for photographs.
B. There are conceptual connections between Close’s later work and other, apparently dissimilar works.
C. Throughout his career as an artist, none of the portraits Close has painted have been done in exchange for money.