CAT 2022 Question Paper | VARC Slot 2

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Question 23 : The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

There's a common idea that museum artworks are somehow timeless objects available to admire for generations to come. But many are objects of decay. Even the most venerable Old Master paintings don't escape: pigments discolour, varnishes crack, canvases warp. This challenging fact of art-world life is down to something that sounds more like a thread from a morality tale: inherent vice. Damien Hirst's iconic shark floating in a tank - entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living - is a work that put a spotlight on inherent vice. When he made it in 1991, Hirst got himself in a pickle by not using the right kind of pickle to preserve the giant fish. The result was that the shark began to decompose quite quickly - its preserving liquid clouding, the skin wrinkling, and an unpleasant smell wafting from the tank.

Explanatory Answer

The main idea of the paragraph given is that museum artworks are not timeless but subject to 'inherent vice': they decay, discolour or crack over time. Option B captures this idea and is the best of the given summaries.
All other options are about the role or responsibility of museums. The paragraph does not focus upon this. Option D is incorrect as the paragraph clearly says artworks are not timeless.

The answer is 'Artworks may not last forever; they may deteriorate with time, and the challenge is to slow down their degeneration.'

Choice B is the correct answer.

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