Relics & reliquaries

Abstract

"Since the early days of the Christian Church, the reverently preserved earthly remnants of saints and martyrs have been known as 'relics,' from the Latin term reliquiae, meaning 'remains.' But it is not only a Christian practice to honor such things. Relics of the Buddha, including his teeth, hairs, and particles from his cremated ashes, are preserved in domed stupa shrines. Likewise, relics of the Prophet Mohammad--including a tooth, a hair from his beard, and the impression of his footprint--have been similarly honored. And there are holy political relics: a locket of George Washington's hair is displayed at Mt. Vernon, Virginia; Abraham Lincoln's blood-stained deathbed sheets are kept at Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C.; Napoleon Bonaparte's 'mummified tendon' (withered penis) is proudly enshrined in the private collection of a urologist. In the Communist world, the mummified bodies of Lenin and Mao are kept on public display in a state of perfect preservation. As well, relics of pop-culture icons--like the bed sheets the Beatles slept on, or Elvis' sweaty scarves and locks of his hair--are covetously collected and kept holy. [...] Relics have inspired artists throughout the centuries to create masterworks of art to safeguard them. [...] Reliquaries--also known as monstrances, ostensoriums, custodials, chasses, ossuaries, philatories, tecas, and capsules--are boxes or containers used to hold relics. They are often objects of tremendous craftsmanship, gilded and ornately decorated. Reliquaries were originally sealed, coffin-shaped coffers; later, glass-fronted versions were produced, making the relics inside visible to pilgrims. The interiors of reliquaries are often richly upholstered, with the relics reverently placed upon velvet pillows. A structure built to house a reliquary is called a martyria or Schatzkammer, and its architecture often echoes the shape of the reliquary within. [...] Since early childhood I have been an obsessive collector, verging on neotoma (being a pack rat). I consciously started saving things in 1963, at the age of eight. I would collect obiects that I thought were somehow significant, but I would also save relics from tragicomic events and personal traumas. The first time I learned about anything akin to a relic was in 1964, when I heard that someone had obtained the bed sheets from a hotel where the Beatles had slept, then cut the cloth into pieces and offered them up for sale. The Beatle bed sheets made an indelible mark on my brain. In 1965, my relic collection grew by leaps and bounds, until I turned my entire bedroom into a museum and regularly invited people over to see the installation of artifacts. It was not until 1971 that I started incorporating the collections into my artwork. [...] My early assemblages were inspired by the California assemblage tradition, especially artist Ed Kienholz. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my professors at Otis Art Institute, Betye Saar and George Herms, both of the assemblage tradition. Early Christians used pagan or profane boxes to store their precious relics, as these containers were readily available. In my relic project, I have used this same approach, collecting boxes not originally designed as reliquaries. I take these profane boxes, install a window in the front, carve various elements, and attach heaps of ornate molding. I then paint, gild, and antique them, and finally apply a patina, resulting in as many as ten layers of finishes. This reliquary project is related more to artist Chris Burden's performance relics than to the California assemblage tradition. Burden displays his relics--such as the nails he used to crucify himself to a VW Bug--in high-tech Plexiglas cases. For my performance artifacts, I merge the idea of Chris Burden's high-concept relics with the medieval tradition of ornate gilded reliquaries. [...] For more than 15 years I have been collecting reliquarial boxes for my project, keeping them in deep storage until the right moment presented itself. During that period, I traveled--from Turin to Vienna, from Las Vegas to Lapland, from Polynesia to the Vatican, and from the Iceland to Tasmania and elsewhere, collecting artifacts along the way. In the summer of 2002--after ten years of traveling around the world and making residences in Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nevada; Swedish Lapland; and San Antonio, Texas--I drove west from the Texas Hill Country, across the infernal desert, to settle back in Los Angeles. At that point, I consolidated four storage spaces and various shipments from Vegas, Sweden, Texas, and California into one gargantuan jam-packed storehouse. All the research materials, relics, artifacts, books, and tchotchkes from my travels were brought together for the first time. I had to sort through all the different containers, seeing anew all the artifacts. This was the moment that inspired me to start the reliquary project that I had been planning for so long. In 2003, I began. I worked full-time for more than three years constructing the reliquaries."--Jeffrey Valance; adapted from introduction (pages 7-12).