76. Mary McCleary, Plato's Cave

Mary McCleary, Plato's Cave, 2006. Collage of acrylic paint, glitter, painted paper, wood, cording, and string, and small plastic objects affixed by PVA glue to Arches watercolor paper, approx. 22.5 × 30 inches.

So much mischief is caused by our need to believe that things actually are as they seem. This material world appears solid, but our science barrels towards a vanishing point where it’s indistinguishable from the most woo-woo supernatural beliefs. And it seems—as it seemed to the ancients, nothing changes!—that our job is to make our way out of the cave of our bodies, of society, of this world we are born into, with all its concerns and distractions. To be blinded by the ecstatic knowledge that everything we think matters—and that matter itself—is, in fact, illusion.

---

---

Too many emails? For instructions on receiving a weekly recap, click here.

This post is part of MFAH 100, a series featuring works from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in honor of its 100th birthday. 100 words on 100 works in 100 days.

Have a piece you’d like me to consider? Send a message or leave a comment—I can’t promise I’ll include it but I will give it a serious look.