Jason Lanegan Artwork: Beginning of My Reliquaries

Archeology of Boyhood Memories

22" x 26" x 6" Mined media - 2003

Collection of Brian Christensen

I made this piece at the end of my second year of graduate school at BYU. I felt fairly confident that I had found a successful way of utilizing the cast resin plates I had been experimenting with for over a year (these and many of the pieces made from them can be seen under other work). During a critique one of my professors, Bruce Smith, commented that the box should be embellished more like a reliquary to add significance to the whole thing. I had no idea what a reliquary was even though my mother is catholic. Bruce knew I was going on study abroad to Europe that spring and explained how I could locate some. I was blown away by the diversity of what I encountered. I sought out reliquaries in every museum and cathedral as I traveled from Rome to London. This was a pivotal experience for me.

Finders Keepers: A Poor Man's View of Europe

Size varies upon display, jars with found objects in hand made clam shell boxes - 2003

I built these boxes and placed empty jars in them with the intention of filling them with found objects as I traveled through Europe.

Each Jar has a scientific type label that corresponds to an entry in a journal describing the circumstances under which each object was collected.

R, IT. 03 02 Monday April 28, 3003. Rome, Italy 7:30 a.m.
Glasses picked up in the middle of Piazza di Eroi as I crossed the street on the way to the Vatican Museum. I saw the glasses out of the corner of my eye and went back to get them. I was almost hit three time in acquiring this particular piece of garbage.

Rome & Florence

Paris & London

Each of these collages are 9" x 12" and are constructed from a print made in Florence and trash collected from each city. This was my first venture into collage and I was perplexed at how this seemingly easy process could require so much of me.