Plato's Cave

(24" x 36") - Acrylic Paint on Canvas with Alcohol Ink

Plato's Cave is one of the most famous and poignant allegories within classical Greek philosophy.  At its root is the fundamental question of truth.  What is true?  What is real?  And how can we be sure we know what truth and reality really are? 

Fast forward approximately 2,500 years to today, and we're still grappling with the same questions, but arguably on a profoundly greater level.  Advances in quantum physics and astronomy have us questioning our understanding of the basic building blocks of reality on both the micro and macro scales.  Textbooks that have stood the test of time are being rewritten.  For all our technological and scientific wizardry, those of us in the 21-century aren't really that far removed from the prisoners in Plato's cave.

This painting is a contemporary interpretation of the slow crawl humanity is experiencing coming out of our modern cave.  Call it a peephole into the diorama that is human consciousness and understanding.  Blue sky above, dim cave in the middle, dark earth below.  We, the shadow figures, live in between.