This is a 5-minute parable of the Allegory of the cave by Plato. If you do not know of it, a quick watch will help you understand.
The allegory contains many forms of symbolism used to instruct the reader in the nature of perception. The cave represents superficial physical reality. It also represents ignorance, as those in the cave live accepting what they see at face value. Ignorance is further represented by the darkness that engulfs them because they cannot know the true objects that form the shadows, leading them to believe the shadows are the true forms of the objects. The chains that prevent the prisoners from leaving the cave represent that they are trapped in ignorance, as the chains are stopping them from learning the truth. The shadows cast on the walls of the cave represent the superficial truth, which is the illusion that the prisoners see in the cave. The freed prisoner represents those who understand that the physical world is only a shadow of the truth, and the sun that is glaring the eyes of the prisoners represents the higher truth of ideas. The light further represents wisdom, as even the paltry light that makes it into the cave allows the prisoners to know shapes
We cannot know what we have not experienced. We cannot know what we cannot know. Only by going into the light, experiencing the new, exploring the new, can we know truth from fiction, knowing from half-knowing. As Artists and creatives, we are exploring that which comes to light. So much of creating is about delving deeply into our own knowing beyond surface and into the knowledge we inherited. Yes, I am a believer in inherited knowledge. How do we know what we have not been taught? Have we refused to know some things? Does your soul weep within? Does your heart want you to bring to light that which is blocking you from true joy, true peace? Artists delve into this deep place of the kind of knowledge that will change you, change the way you move the ether, change the world around you. We cannot even guess at our possibilities, our purpose down here on earth. Perhaps your light is where this knowledge is. Creatives access the light, indeed. Do you feel the KNOWING when you are creating?
I did a quick background blocking of color in acrylic.
Then I did a blocking of yellow to prep for gold paint to represent the outside light.
I put a nice thick layer of Kroma Crackle, let it dry for 1 – 3 days, and then sealed it before I stained it.
At the end, I added a little girl peeking into the darkness of the cave. .. or.... is she inside the cave peeking out into the light?
I would love to see you do a symbolic piece around the Cave.
©Carol Desjarlais 5.24.21
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