This sculpture, titled “Drowned is Reason”, is a modern day metaphor for the poem by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Note that this sonnet is a translation of Petrarch’s sonnet 189.

My Galley Charged with Forgetfulness

Thomas Wyatt - 1502-1542

My galley charged with forgetfulness

   Thorough sharp seas in winter nights doth pass

   'Tween rock and rock; and eke mine enemy, alas,

   That is my lord, steereth with cruelness;

And every oar a thought in readiness,

   As though that death were light in such a case.

   An endless wind doth tear the sail apace

   Of forced sighs, and trusty fearfulness

A rain of tears, a cloud of dark disdain,

   Hath done the wearied cords great hinderance;

   Wreathed with error and eke with ignorance,

The stars be hid that led me to this pain;

   Drowned is reason that should me consort,

And I remain despairing of the port.

 Petrarch, Rima 189 (cs. 14th century)

A Modern Prose Translation

My ship laden with forgetfulness passes through a harsh sea, at midnight, in winter, between Scylla and Charybdis, and at the tiller sits my lord, rather my enemy;

each oar is manned by a ready, cruel thought that seems to scorn the tempest and the end; a wet, changeless wind of sighs, hopes, and desires breaks the sail;

a rain of weeping, a mist of disdain wet and loosen the already weary ropes, made of error twisted up with ignorance.

My two usual sweet stars are hidden; dead among the waves are reason and skill; so that I begin to despair of the port.

Of forced sighs and trusty fearfulness.

A rain of tears, a cloud of dark disdain,

(10) Hath done the wearied cords great hinderance;

Wreathed with error and eke with ignorance.

The stars be hid that led me to this pain.

Drowned is reason that should me consort,

And I remain despairing of the port.

Metaphor details of the sculpture:

A.)  The TV is the ship, the vessel by which we traverse this tempestuous dangerous voyage in the new world. The wood under the TV symbolizes the keel.

B.)  The media that flows through the TV and is recycled through, is the King, Lord, even God that is discussed in the poems.

C.) The Sharp Seas implied by the wave marks and the splash of paint.

D.) “Mine Enemy” is left to the viewer to determine.

E.)  The oar is vertical pipe from the front showing the red cross / heart hope of salvation.

F.)  The writing of “Anne” (Wyatt) and “Laura” (Petrarch) are the embodiment of our love for constant information.

G.) The vertical pipe on the front represent an oar of the ship.

H.) Various strings that dangle from pipes represent the loose rigging of the ship and

I.)    Drips all over the sculpture represent the rain of tears.

J.)   Cloud of dark disdain, cloudes that obscure the stars is literally rendered near the top of the TV carcass.

K.)  The tattered ropes of the ship are literally rendered from the pipes of the sculpture.

Modern day thoughts:

Media is piped into our homes with little control or concern other than viewer ratings. Recycled. Our current God is the popular or the fantastic. Our tempestuous voyage of life is beset by the winds of untruth and conspiracy theories that warp and destroy truth.

Civility has taken a back seat to entertainment.