Kate's Response to Plato

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave fascinated me mainly because it deals with perception of reality. Plato compares our physical world to a dark cave. We are the prisoners he mentions, who fully believe that reality is composed of what we perceive with our senses, that is, mere shadows. Once one prisoner is freed and introduced to the outside world, or what Plato sees as the intellectual world, that prisoner is at first overwhelmed, but eventually embraces enlightenment and dreads returning to the darkness.
Plato is not the only one who believes that our tangible world is nothing more than a shadow. Many have revisited this concept—ranging from Albert Einstein to the Wachowski brothers. Einstein wrote, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one,” while the Wachowski brothers brought us The Matrix.

Perhaps I too will explore this idea in my own work.  I feel drawn to the topic.  After following James's advice and delving deeper into why I make my sculptures, I have realized that in a way they are a rejection of reality.  I hope to develop these thoughts in the coming semester.