Light and Blindness

An image that is split into two halves, the top one containing a stick figure that is looking onto a green hill that contains colorful flowers and bugs with birds flying above it and the bottom one containing a stick figure that is shackled to the ground in a cave that is looking at shadows of flowers, birds, and bugs. The nature contains the words, “It’s About Perspective.”

…The image references “Allegory of the Cave,” by Plato, and exhibits two identical stick figures. One person is shackled to the bottom of a deep, dark cave. The allegory by Plato explains a story where a person unshackles and leaves a figurative cave, gaining perspective about the world around them. Therefore, within the cave, that person has only a singular perspective and does not understand deeper meanings of life. Color, in this case, is meant to represent perspective. Color is very important in understanding what something is, giving it meaning, similar to the person in Plato’s allegory who begins to understand a deeper meaning of life. The person in the bottom half of the image can only see colorless and dimensionless shadows and has a very limited perspective about not only what they are seeing but the greater world around them….

-Katie S.

This is an image of a hand holding a white foam mannequin head. The two eyes of the mannequin head are made from tissues that are blackened and are burning with orange fire. The fire also deteriorated some of the space behind the eyes and on the forehead. The mannequin's head is held among nature, with a backdrop of a big green hill with some trees on the side and green grass all around with a fence and some bushes in the close distance. The sky is light blue, mostly clear, with some puffy white clouds.

…The metaphor [of the prisoner leaving the cave and being hurt by seeing the sun] represents the pain of truth…

-Jack C.

A hand holds a double layered wooden cuff which is about the size of a human neck. Two purple chains are attached to the cuff on each side and dangle onto a flat white surface. On the flat surface, there are two broken segments of chain that are fixed on the ground by two wooden circles.

…I decided to create a piece that provides a tangible object that is described in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Specifically, I created a sculpture of the cuff and chain that binds the
prisoners’ necks, so that they can only see the shadows on the wall of the cave…I wanted to create this piece because I wanted to draw attention to how these chains were cut. In my
imagination, the chains were cut on the parts that were fixed to the ground. When the freed prisoner escaped the cave, the cuff was still around his neck, and the chains dangled at his waist as he climbed out.
After he left the cave, he was constantly reminded of his past and who he used to be. In my understanding, he returned to free his peers partly because he wanted to share the world with them, but
also because he had a physical reminder of where he came from that literally wore him down…

-Riley M.

It is a black and white image, depicting a prisoner sitting on the floor of a cave chained to the wall by his hands and his neck. His eyes are fixated on a television sitting a top a rock in front of him and has two rows of stars with the message “Everything’s Great!” written in between the two rows. Behind him is a shadowy creature resembling a man wearing a top hat containing stars and stripes, depicting a grotesque version of Uncle Sam. The scene is enveloped by darkness. Above the darkness sits a layer of grass.

…In my depiction, the shadows from Plato’s original allegory are replaced with a television
screen, symbolizing the modern ways we perceive reality. Television, radio, social media, and
the internet all serve as tools that can both enlighten and mislead. They have the power to expand
our understanding of the world, yet they also tend to trap us in echo chambers, reinforcing deeply
held beliefs that may be rooted in misinformation. This distortion of truth can occur
unintentionally, through widely accepted inaccuracies, or intentionally, when false information is
spread with malicious intent.
A notable element in the piece is the prisoner’s apparent happiness despite being in
chains. This references Plato’s idea that those imprisoned in ignorance often find comfort in their
illusion….

-KJ M.

There is an orange blind fold with two hazel eyes on the front. Behind the eyes are orange and red flames.

The design on the blindfold is a fire showing the imagery of the fire from Plato’s
cave. The fire is the light that creates the prisoners’ world, which is why I wanted to incorporate
it into my drawing. I wanted my drawing to show how knowledge and enlightenment can show
the truth of the world and improve their lives. The fire represents a distorted version of reality
and source of knowledge. The fire casts shadows on the cave wall, which the prisoners believe
is the truth. This symbolizes how people misunderstand knowledge and need to be enlightened.
The choice to include eyes into my drawing was to show the false vision that the prisoners have
of the world. They do not actually “see” the truth, and the eyes on the front of the blindfold
represent that they are not actually “seeing” as well.

-Ava C.