When I see ___, I think ___.
When I see ___, I feel ___.
The ladder looks like our lives. We have a wide base of many years. Our eyes look up in anticipation of our future. Then we start our climb and as the years fall behind us, our lives narrow like the ladder. At the top, we have climbed to the end of the ladder. We have reached our life's pinnacle. - Sharon Chansen
The light at the end of the ladder can never be reached! – Cassandra Broadus-Garcia
I studied Booker T Washington in high school and in my business classes during my mid-management AAS studies. An amazing man with the management insights of a man who had lived many lives. His foresight in seeing the need to be part of your growth and keeping a constant eye on the journey, not the end nor the beginning inspired me. He and his students at Tuskegee worked side-by-side building and striving for their futures together. This ladder made of two natural kinds of wood becomes more narrow at the top, from just over 11 inches at the bottom down to just over an inch. This seems to not just make it longer than it is but also shows that problems that loom large at the beginning grow smaller as you take each step toward the goal. I also find it interesting that the piece was named after it was completed. – Gloria Jeanne Wyatt
The sculpture’s title tells me this isn’t just anybody’s ladder. It is Booker T. Washington’s ladder, an American who I know was born a slave and became a teacher, speaker, and advisor to Roosevelt (Teddy) and Taft, presidents known to have racial prejudices. Knowing that I see the challenges of getting onto the ladder, keeping my feet from slipping off the rungs, and the climb upward as impossible, I think that there are different life “ladders” for different people. – Susan Michael Barrett
When I see the wobbly wooden ladder get very narrow high above me, I feel motivated to climb while realizing I will never reach the top. It seems a life lesson.
When I think about the title of the sculpture, I wonder about the sculpture’s intended expression regarding Booker T Washington, and then I think about racial injustices in the USA, and then I think of the almost insurmountable obstacles people of color face when trying to climb. – Terry Barrett
When I see the trail of Orpheus, I see the aborted ascent of Eurydice. When I see a ladder disappearing into the above, I think of Jacob’s dream. When I see a yearning for beauty combined with art, I think of a limping measure of the heart’s adjustment. – Bill Myers
I think of Jacob’s ladder. – Marcela Prikryl
Image credit: Ladder for Booker T. Washington. Artist, Martin Puryear.
