The Iowa Photo: Socratic Beer Tunnel Vision

While taking a portrait of three producers of the upcoming “Death of a Brewer” film, set in part in the infamous beer caves under Iowa City, I noticed the single construction light illuminating the tunnel was casting the shadows of Mokotsi Rukundo, Doug Alberhasky, Steve Sherman, and myself. I took a moment to point out the pattern to the three of them and then continued on directing them for a portrait.

Looking at my take later, I was reminded of Plato’s Republic and the Allegory of the Cave. In the allegory, Socrates describes a situation in which people who spent their entire life in a cave viewing only the shadows cast upon the wall by the outlines of objects paraded in front of a fire behind them. Socrates explains to Glaucon that a person in such predicament would come to regard the shadow as the truth of the objects with no concept of the objects that cast the shadows themselves, or the world outside of the cave.

As I looked over my take I amused myself by considering the parallels between photography, journalism, and the casting of shadows. But enough of that, the bright light of the fire is hurting my eyes. Let’s sit down, have a beer, and watch the shadows some more.

Comments: nick.rohlman@thegazette.com