Peter A. Maresco, John F. Welch College
of Business
Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT
Zafar U. Ahmed, Department of Marketing
and Management
Texas A&M University, Commerce
Abstract
In the past several years, a trend
has developed that in an earlier age would have seemed
inappropriate and perhaps even morbid; the increased
personalization of gravestones (memorials). What makes
this trend interesting is the variety of shapes, designs,
manufacturing processes, and types of personalization
actually appearing on gravestones, including seven-inch
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens recessed into the
face of memorials. This paper discusses gravestones (memorials)
in a religious context. It examines the rapidly developing
market for elaborately designed memorials both in their
traditional forms, typically vertical and created out
of granite with just a name and date of death, to memorials
in every conceivable size, shape and colour portraying scenes
of the deceased’s everyday life. Although this paper
concentrates on memorials found in Christian, mostly Catholic
and Protestant cemeteries, references to personalization,
or lack of it, in Jewish and Muslim cemeteries are also
discussed. Briefly addressed are references to advances
in the latest engraving processes that are now making these
personalized memorials possible.
Personalized
Memorials–Background
[1] The American attitude toward
death and the manner in which the deceased is remembered
have traditionally been viewed through cultural, psychological
and religious perspectives (Rotella, Gold, Andriani,
Scharf and Chenoweth 2003, 65). It has been pointed out
that “With the exception of
wars, which invite memorials and searches for graves, the
20th century moved death into hospitals and away
from daily life. Public displays of mourning such as black
armbands, which were as common as graveside visits, were
being replaced by other methods of remembering the deceased” (Lee
2002, B9).
[2] Jennifer Wolcott, in an article
entitled, “Commemorating
a life: more Americans are choosing to customize memorial
and funeral services” (Christian Science
Monitor, March 1999), points out that in the past 40
to 50 years, society has become increasingly mobile, fast-paced
and technical, which has a direct bearing on the move toward
personalization in the funeral business. With transience
becoming almost a norm, the link that once existed between
a family and a particular church, denomination or religious
leader (priest, minister, rabbi or imam), religious burial
traditions have begun to fade, to be replaced by a trend
toward personalization (Wolcott 1999, 11).
[3] Hundreds of years ago, tombstones
told the story of a person’s life. This traditionally included their
name, dates of birth and death, and in some instances an
inscription reflecting on their life, in effect a memorial
in death. However, today’s memorials are moving to
another level. Cemetery monuments are no longer relics with
traditional designs such as a crucifix, roses or entirely
devoid of any ornamentation like those found in American
cemeteries of the 1930s and 1940s. Creating memorial monuments
that tell a story in stone (cemetery art), and in some instances
on video screens, now commemorate a person’s life
in ways never before imagined.
[4] How Americans choose to celebrate
a life after death has become increasingly creative and
personal with services that often include tangible remembrances
of the deceased. Examples include not only pictures of
loved ones placed on or in the coffin but other objects
representing the deceased’s lifetime
pursuits; a favourite golf club or other sports related
item, pictures of a boat, a favourite piece of music playing
in the background, and anything else that might remind the
mourners of the life of the departed. This has the effect
of leaving mourners with the sense of the deceased having
truly celebrated life. This level of personalization also
includes customized caskets.
[5] During the Puritan period, grave
markers basically consisted of piles of stones with a
small boulder crudely engraved with the name of the deceased
and their date of death. Once professional stonecutters
began practicing their trade, slate became a popular
material for use in gravestones due to its softer, more
malleable texture. As stonecutting techniques advanced,
so did the level of elaboration as well as the number
of symbols that began to appear on the face of markers: “Skeletons,
winged hourglasses, and shattered urns were gruesome symbols
of death that later gave way to symbols such as cherubs,
wreaths, and weeping willows. Very often an occupational
symbol, an emblem from a fraternal organization, or a portrait
of the deceased was used” (Alirangues 2003).[*]
[6] Throughout the centuries, individuals
and their families chose to design and construct their
own memorials. In the Jewish tradition “after Rachel died, ‘Jacob
erected a monument on Rachel’s grave’ (Gen 35:20)” (Kadden
and Kadden 1997). The sarcophagi of ancient Egypt are highly
personalized and lavishly decorated with beautifully detailed
hieroglyphics. While the pyramids and other architectural
wonders such as the Taj Mahal in India represent the grandeur
that monumental art has achieved they share something very
basic with monuments of all styles constructed through the
ages–they were created to commemorate the lives of
individuals and the respect and love others had for them.
[7] Pre-Christian Romans practiced
both cremation and inhumation (burial). Roman tombstones commonly contained a sculpture
of the deceased, basic demographic information, a list of
public offices held, services performed by the deceased,
and dedicatory inscriptions by family members: “Although
tombstone inscriptions were often formulaic, they also could
be intensely personal” (e.g., the Laudatio Turiae,
RCiv, v.1, #183, 519; http://abacus.bates.edu).
[8] Christianized Romans incorporated
Graeco-Roman iconography into their funereal symbolism.
In the wake of the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War, the wealthy and
powerful frequently added a name to the symbolic representation
of the cadaver such as a skeleton positioned on the lower
part of the tomb (transi-tombs). It was not until the seventeenth
century that Christian iconography began to be seen on individual
graves. Elaborately personalized funeral memorials may have
actually begun with the aristocracy, but soon the bourgeoisie
and the lower classes wanted to individualize their memorials
as well. As a result, Christian tombs of the time combined
both religious and social aspects of a person’s life,
often indicating the deceased’s trade (Daly 2005).
In the Anglo-Saxon world, the cross became strongly associated
with Catholicism, and it was not until the High Church Revival
in the mid-nineteenth century, which coincided with the
revival of emblematic art, that crosses commonly appeared
in British and other Anglo-Saxon graveyards (Daly 2005).
[9] In the Victorian period, mourners
would create elaborate cemetery monuments that captured
life and the inevitability of mortality: “Victorian cemeteries contain various
memorials encrusted with signs and symbols such as creeping
vines, sleeping babies, even a scythe-bearing Grim Reaper” (Schwartz
1992, A1). An example of this is the evolution of gravestone
symbols commonly found in Puritan New England cemeteries
such as death’s heads, cherubs, urns and willows commonly
found from 1620-1820. In fact, “the stylistic evolution
from death head to cherub reflects the exact time period
in which the Great Awakening (1735-1750) brought about a
change in Puritan attitudes toward life, death, and the
afterlife” (Eastman 2002). Mourners of that time would
have a difficult time recognizing the changes that have
taken place with regard to today’s personalized monuments.
[10] Today, monuments fall into three
basic general categories: upright monuments, flat markers
and family-owned mausoleums. Upright monuments, those
rising above lawn level, have traditionally been the
most common. They are often used as memorials for an
entire family, providing space for the names of the family
members plus room for an inscription or personalization.
It is exactly this type of flexibility for personalization
that has made this type of memorial popular today. Flat
markers, traditionally made of bronze and placed at ground
level, are usually designed specifically for burial identification
for only one person with no allowance for personalization.
In most cases, the memorial’s small size limits most,
if not all, personalization alternatives. The third category,
the family owned mausoleum, is the largest of the monuments.
Typically designed for single or multiple entombments, these
have been attractive to families desiring an especially
private internment location.
Memorialization Preferences: Who is
the Demographic?
[11] To gain a better understanding
of memorialization preferences, the Cold Spring Granite
Memorial Group commissioned the firm of Russell & Herder of Brainerd, MN to conduct
a comprehensive survey that gauged the memorialization preferences
of Americans by region, age, income and ethnicity; 1,000
consumers, males and females 45 years old and over, were
randomly selected for telephone interviews within four regions
(northeast, southeast, west and central), providing an overall
statistical reliability of +/-3.2 percent at the 95 percent
confidence level: “We discovered that the basic form
of memorialization for many people today–a gray stone
monument or flat bronze marker–has not changed over
the past 50 years. We wondered how this could be and if
people would be interested in having wider memorialization
preferences” (Baklarz 2003). The results confirmed
a strong lack of awareness of memorialization products and
options. In addition, a separate focus group dialogue with
10 people representing the memorialization market confirmed
that people are interested in discussing new memorialization
options if they are exposed to them. A typical response
was that people don’t usually get up in the morning
looking to research the market for gravestones.
[12] Traditionally, those choosing
to remember their deceased family members through the
display of memorials have selected above-ground vertical
and horizontal granite headstones or bronze markers placed
in the ground. In addition, other options include a private
or family mausoleum, a community mausoleum, a columbarium
which is a granite structure containing niches that can
be placed outside or inside, above ground, a garden crypt,
an urn containing cremation ashes, and a scattering garden
where cremated remains are scattered in a cemetery or
consecrated location (Russell & Herder
2003). Not surprisingly, Californians were among the first
to adopt more progressive and elaborate types of funerals
than those traditionally found in the rest of the America.
Baby-Boomers and the Emerging Market
for Personalized Memorials
[13] A Los Angeles Times article
on “consumer-conscious
funeral shoppers” explains that “the aging of
the baby-boom generation ‘represents the crest of
a wave poised to engulf the funeral industry with demands
for reasonably priced, often individually tailored celebrations
of passage’” (Rotella, Gold, Andriani, Scharf
and Chenoweth 2003, 65). In 2003, more Americans died than
the entire population of Kuwait. That number, more than
2.2 million deaths as stated by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, doubled to 4.1 million in 2004.
The estimated 76.5 million baby boomers born from 1946-1964
will account for the majority of the deaths in the upcoming
decades: “As a leading voice for funeral service,
NFTA (National Funeral Directors Association) has been tracking
trends and working with funeral directors and consumers
for more than 120 years. With the rise of baby boomers,
funeral service consumers are making funeral decisions based
on different values than their previous generation” (National
Funeral Directors Association 2004-2005, 118). One of the
more recent developments in this shift in making funeral
decisions is in the area of memorial personalization which
has resulted in a dramatic increase in unique and meaningful
services, including personalized monuments.
[14] As part of the research for
this paper, Eric Fogarty of Dodds Monuments in Xenia,
OH was contacted. In an email dated January 3, 2006,
Fogarty mentions that personalized memorials are undoubtedly
an important part of the memorial business, but that
many memorial companies have very different definitions
of “personalized” and the manner
in which memorialists–those in the memorial business–market
products to families to create a personalized memorial.
In addition, the manner in which personalized memorials
are marketed is a continuous process that includes advertising,
promotional literature, ongoing sales training, and presentations
to family members. Marketing personalized memorials is not
confined to one aspect of the memorial business and understanding
the significant role that a memorialist plays in a family’s
grieving process is critical. John Horan, spokesman for
the National Funeral Directors Association, has recently
observed: “We’re seeing monuments that reflect
more of a person’s family and their personal interests
and significantly less regarding an individual’s religious
conviction” (Hogan/Albach 2005).
[15] The twenty-first century tombstone has undergone a
significant transformation. No longer do tombstones represent
religious affiliations such as Christian or Jewish with
representations of crosses and stars of David. Today, due
to advances in technology, these tombstones are literally
taking on personalities of their own. One company, Memory
Studios in Albany, NY, estimates that business nearly doubled
since they began offering computer-drawn etching in 1992
(Wechsler 2003). The cost of creating a personalized tombstone
using the computer etching process can be from $100 to $500
in addition to the price of the marker.
[16] Mel Lommel, general manager
of the Royal Melrose division of the Cold Spring Granite
Company says that “he has
seen a noticeable increase in the number of personalized
memorials. ‘The trend is certainly toward highly personalized,
custom memorials. We’re getting more requests to recreate
the symbols of a person’s interests and life. We only
expect memorialization to become more specialized and more
unique’ Lommel says. I guess that’s why we call
our designers and fabricators “granite artists” because
that is what they are increasingly called upon to create’” (Cold
Spring Granite 1999).
[17] As with many other preferences
in their lives, baby-boomers tend to take a different
approach to the matters of dying and memorials. They
love technology and their customized funeral send-offs
frequently include DVD tributes: “Boomers
are more likely to do their own thing when it comes to death-related
issues like burial and memorialization” says Phil
Goodman, of Generation Transitional Marking in San Diego,
CA. “As a group; they haven’t been forced to
deal with death like prior generations. Now that their parents
are dying and they are faced with those decisions, they
are doing it their own way” (Cold Spring Granite 1999).
Personalization on Jewish Memorials
[18] In the Jewish tradition, it
is generally believed that “humankind
is created in the image of God and we are, therefore, mandated
to have respect for the deceased and also the body of the
deceased. This is called kevod ha-met and is the
guiding principal for Jewish burial and mourning customs” (A
Guide to Jewish Burial and Mourning Practices). In the
Orthodox Jewish tradition, there is no embalming, no viewing,
no flowers and no funeral home involvement.
[19] Personalization in Jewish cemeteries does not exist
to the extent found in Christian cemeteries, whether Catholic
or Protestant. Traditionally, personalization of Jewish
memorials tends to reflect the traditional symbols taken
from Jewish synagogues such as the star of David (magen
David), the symbol commonly associated with Judaism.
This symbol on a gravestone traditionally affirms Jewish
faith and commitment to Israel. In addition, the menorah
with its seven branches symbolizing the seven days of creation
is also a common form of personalization, but not to the
extent of the cross in Christian cemeteries.
[20] The Jewish cemetery in the Town of Ozarow, Poland,
that saw its population of Jews deported on October 22,
1942, provides an example of traditional gravestone carvings
found in Eastern European Jewish cemeteries of the time.
Distinctive features of gravestones in the Ozarow cemetery
include the Cohanim (two hands coming together in
a priestly blessing), Leviim (water poured from a
pitcher), several books in a bookcase, a lion or a tree,
and for women, an outstretched hand with a donation of coins,
a chandelier or candlesticks (Weinberg n.d.).
[21] In the Jewish tradition, gravestones or monuments (matzevah)
are usually selected at least three months prior to the
date of the unveiling ceremony (Cross and Field 2002). According
to Kadden and Kadden, Judaism places no specific restriction
or stipulation with regard to size or type of monument;
however, most cemeteries have such regulations (Kaden and
Kadden 1997). Symbols relating to the 12 tribes of Israel
are occasionally represented on gravestones. The symbols
most commonly used are those that represent specific professions.
For instance, the temple horn blower might have a shofar or
trumpet on his gravestone and the mohel or circumciser
might have a knife. More contemporary symbols such as the “scales
of justice” representing a lawyer are also commonly
used. “In Jewish tradition, the Israelim, the
broad masses, have no particular symbol, but frequently
use the Star of David and Menorah” (Daly 2005):
Typically, markers found in Jewish cemeteries include
the following: the English and Hebrew name of the deceased,
the dates of birth and death in English and in Hebrew,
and the relationship to other family members (i.e., father/mother,
husband/wife, grandfather/grandmother, sister/brother,
etc.). Also, one often finds the Hebrew letters pay
nun, standing for “ponikbar(ah), here
is buried,” and the letters tav, nun, tzadee,
bet, hay, standing for the phrase “May his/her
soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life” (Kadden
and Kadden 1997).
Other symbols traditionally found on Jewish memorials have
included natural imagery such as doves and olive branches
(cf. Gen 8:11). Puns are also found on Jewish gravestones
(Daly 2005). In Jewish cemeteries, symbols of a religion
other than Judaism are not usually permitted.
Lack of Personalization at Muslim Gravesites
[22] Unlike Christian and Jewish cemeteries, Muslim graveyards
are completely devoid of monuments. At burial (al-dafin)
the deceased is placed on his/her right side in the grave,
preferably without a coffin. It is also prescribed that
the deceased be placed along an east-west axis on an angle
ensuring that the deceased is facing Mecca: “Family
members should neither decorate the grave with plants or
flowers or place a tombstone over it, and there must be
a guarantee that the body will never be exhumed or otherwise
disturbed in its eternal rest” (Schayani 2003). In
the case of Bedouin (Muslim) burials, the burial place of
the deceased is marked with stones indicating both the head
and feet in a shallower grave than is typical of other ethnic
groups.
[23] It should also be pointed out
that in many European countries burial plots are not
owned but leased. For Muslims this has created unique
problems. For instance, in Germany, “the
grave is not owned but only leased, usually for a maximum
of 30 years, after which period the lease must either be
renewed or the graveyard is plowed over and returned to
another use. The same rule applies to some Muslim countries,
although the reserved period there is usually 99 years” (Schayani
2003).
Video Gravestones: A Cultural Perspective
[24] Throughout the ages, every technology
(especially communications technologies) has been a function
of humankind’s quest
to overcome the problem of space and time. The quest for
immortality is arguably an ultimate goal for achieving this
kind of control. For example, the Egyptians used hieroglyphics
to overcome such difficulties and ensure that the deceased
had all the information necessary to survive in the afterlife
(writing being considered a sacred technology that could
transcend the limits of time/space). A recent discovery
in Peru at Incan burial sites confirms that Incan men were
buried with all of their most prized possessions, including
their most beautiful and best-loved women (http://shastahome.com/machu-picchu/burial.html).
Video gravestones can be seen as an extension of such attempts.
The correlative avenue of analysis is, of course, humankind’s
quest for immortality. With video gravestones, the deceased
can “live forever” (or at least for the15 years
that the technology is built to last). Additionally, along
with the expense of such a technology being within reason,
video gravestones “democratize” immortality.
In one respect, video gravestones can be considered another
facet of the voyeurism that Americans in particular are
fond of engaging in (hence, the onslaught of reality shows).
The Video Gravestone: Taking Personalization
to the Next Level
[25] Today, video screens are not
just for expensive LCD (liquid crystal display), DLP
(digital light processing) and plasma televisions. They
are also found in cell phones, the back of car head rests
for playing video games on trips, in subway cars and
even in bathrooms. The importance of this trend has been
noted by funeralOne, the St. Clair, MI company whose
mission it is to “make funeralOne
the best funeral industry personalization, technology, and
consulting firm in the world” (funeralOne 2005).
[26] To take personalized memorials
to the next level, memorials with built-in video screens
showing slides and/or videos of the deceased were inevitable: “Gary Collision,
Professor of American Studies at Pennsylvania State University
in Pittsburgh, thinks video tombstones are a natural progression
from outsize monumental stonework. ‘Cemeteries are
places where people try to outdo each other, display their
wealth and power. This would certainly be a new way to do
that’” (Gosline 2004). Research has revealed
that to date there have been three individuals who either
have patents pending or patents approved for such products.
One such entrepreneur is Robert Barrows of Burlingame, CA.
Barrows has a patent pending for a weatherproofed, hollow
gravestone, housing a microchip fitted with a flat LCD touch
screen or in more elaborate units a plasma screen: “‘There’s
no business like show business,’ he told viewers of
the NBC program, Today. ‘Imagine how interesting it
would be to go to tombstones where you didn’t know
the person or to a historical tombstone to find out what
someone had to say’” (Gosline 2004). Another
marketer of video headstones is Scott Mindrum, President
of Making Everlasting Memories, located in Cincinnati, OH.
Mindrum received a patent on a similar device in 1998 but
never actually produced one. Finally, there is Sergio Aguire
of Florida who quit his telecommunications job to work full
time on what has become the best known memorial video screen
product currently on the market, the Vidstone Serenity Panel
manufactured and marketed by Vidstone LLC:
Installed at your grave-site – or in your mausoleum
or columbarium–the 7-inch solar-powered LCD lets
mourners relive your personal highs and dotcom lows.
They just flip open the weatherproof cover and touch
a button to start your slide show or movie. Vidstone
founder Sergio Aguirre got the idea after attending a
funeral that ended with jazz music and projected photos,
including one of the deceased partying in a top hat and
pink boa (Mitchell 2005, 14).
[27] funeralOne’s Joseph Joachim is bullish on the
Vidstone Serenity Panel. He also sees himself as the Walt
Disney of the funeral business. A strange comparison, but
no stranger than the Vidstone Serenity Panel. As a company
that represents the needs of funeral directors across the
U.S. and Canada, funeralOne is continually looking for ways
to enhance its client’s services: “‘What
we’re trying to do is create the ultimate funeral
experience’. Joachim said. ‘Funeral directors
are realizing it’s an important service we can offer,
and we’re happy to offer it’” (Sim 2005),
referring to the Vidstone.
[28] Research reveals that the differences
between the designs, features and longevity as put forth
by Barrows, Mindrum and Aquirre are not significantly
different from one another. All offer units consisting
of seven, fifteen and even twenty-three inch screens
secured to the face of the gravestone. Notable differences
include the manner in which the unit is powered. In Barrows
model, “the tombstone would draw its electricity
from the cemetery’s lighting system. And to avoid
a grave’s soundtrack from clashing with the one next
door, people can also listen through wireless headphones” (Gosline
2004). Priced at $1,500 and designed to last 15 years, the
Vidstone Serenity Panel includes two standard headphone
jacks and is powered by solar panels that protect the screen
from sun damage while charging the unit’s battery.
Four hours of direct sunlight are able to power the unit
for up to 90 minutes. In addition, the Vidstone Serenity
Panel can function in temperatures between 32 degrees and
120 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Vidstone Serenity Panel in the
United Kingdom
[29] Not only has the vidstone received
significant attention among sellers of personalized memorials
and funeral directors in the U.S. but it has also received
attention in the United Kingdom. Sergio Aquirre, founder
and developer of the Vidstone Serenity Panel, as recently
as August 2005 said, “I
think there is great potential for the Vidstone in the UK
and other parts of the world. It is a unique and meaningful
way to remember the deceased” (Johnston 2005).
[30] In order to begin marketing
the Vidstone in the United Kingdom, Aguirre began by
seeking assistance from U.K.-based funeral directors
to begin promoting its unique interactive features. Since
it is the custom of families throughout Europe to insert
photographs of the deceased on the face of gravestones,
the Vidstone could be considered the next logical step
in personalizing memorials. Professor Paul Badham, a
recognized expert on death and immortality at the University
of Lampeter in Wales stated, “Throughout
history people have wanted to be remembered, with the very
important and well-known being recognized with statues in
churches and cathedrals as memorials. This is an updated
version” (Badham 2005). He went on to say that “the
vidstone was not an inappropriate way to remember a loved
one: it is healthy to want to be remember a relative in
a living way” (Badham 2005).
[31] In an effort to gather information
on the acceptance of personalized memorials and video
memorials in the United Kingdom, Dr. Julie Rugg, Director
of The Cemetery Research Group at the University of York,
was consulted. Dr. Rugg mentioned that at this time there
appears to be a limited demand for video memorials. She
indicated that most people personalize a memorial by
what they leave on the grave, i.e., perishable items
rather than specific features such as pictures inserted
directly into the memorial. Dr.
Rugg went on to say that in the United Kingdom, local authorities
tend to own their own cemeteries and separate private sector
stone masons erect memorials so that innovations requiring
any type of infrastructure change would be difficult to
introduce. In addition, there is a high cremation rate in
the United Kingdom (Rugg 2006).
Engraving Technology: Making the Difference
[32] One of the nation’s oldest manufacturers of memorial
products, the Cold Spring Granite Company, was the first
effectively to use modern production methods as early as
the 1920s. Cold Spring Granite “pioneered development
of quarrying and granite fabrication machinery in the 1930’s
and modernized quarrying methods in the United States, including
the drive-in system that eliminated the need for derricks
to lift granite out of quarries, in the 1980’s” (Cold
Spring Granite 2002).
[33] Computer technology has effectively
changed the face of both monuments and gravestones (Hogan/Albach
2005). This technological development, along with the
skills of today’s
artisans, has made it possible for individuals to communicate
their emotions through monumental art in ways never before
thought possible. Before the availability of high-tech stone
cutting equipment, the processes necessary to personalize
memorials to the extent now available made personalization
almost unthinkable, not to mention prohibitively expensive.
The introduction of laser technology, computer-aided design
tools and new diamond wire saws has enabled consumers to
select memorials that more closely fit their personal preferences.
In particular, “the combining of contour cutouts in
the granite with etched or sandblasted carvings has enabled
craftsmen to produce one complete design. Using this technique,
craftsmen are now able to cut out part of a memorial to
resemble, among other designs, the back half of a snowmobile,
while the remainder of the design is completed by etching
it into the face of the selected memorial” (Cold Spring
Granite 1999). Having the technology available to design
and construct memorials once considered impossible, from
grand pianos and deer, can now take form.
[34] The actual process of designing and completing a personalized
marker begins when the craftsperson draws the desired scene
on a piece of thin paper. While the paper is attached to
the granite, they begin to carve the scene with the diamond
tip of a Dremel tool. Once that has been completed, the
outline of the drawing is completed with shading. A coat
of lithochrome is added and colour, if wanted, is painted
on (York Daily Record 2002).
What’s
Next? Emerging Trends: The Memory Medallion among
Others
[35] Several trends regarding the manner in which an individual
chooses to be remembered after their death have emerged
in the past several years. These include, but are not limited
to, pre-recorded messages embedded directly into a memorial
similar to the Vidstone Serenity Panel. One product, called
the Memory Medallion, is in reality a digital memory device
encased in stainless steel. It is accessed with an electronic
wand attached to a laptop computer or a hand-held PDA-type
device. One photo and a story of up to 600 words are stored
on the Memory Medallion and can be downloaded by visitors.
The Memory Medallion is permanently affixed directly to
a memorial. One of the differences between the Memorial
Medallion and the Vidstone Serenity Panel is that the Memorial
Medallion can be placed in almost any location the family
chooses, including monuments, markers, civic memorials,
columbaria and mausoleums. In addition, the Memory Medallion
was created with the intention of creating a long lasting
memorial. It uses a basic digital configuration that can
be adapted along with other evolving technologies (Rock
of Ages 2006). If for any reason the device malfunctions
during the first 10 years of operation, it will be replaced
at no charge. After that period, a fee for shipping and
handling is charged.
[36] Along with high-tech advances
such as the Medallion Memorial and the Vidstone Serenity
Panel family mausoleums, the imprinting of colour pictures
on memorial stones, individualized inscriptions and etched
signatures and photographic images are also gaining in
popularity (Voelpel 2005, 1). Other innovations making
their way into the selection process include caskets
painted in the favourite colour of the deceased, caskets
engraved with names and military logos, and customized
lid liners with representations of anything reminding
mourners of the deceased and their interests and hobbies
while alive, e.g., golf items and fishing holes. It appears
that in death, as in life, the need to customize comes full
circle.
[37] In addition to personalized memorials and gravestones
implanted with interactive LCD screens, one other form of
memorial personalization warrants a mention. This includes
the internet memorial service where mourners who live in
various parts of the world and who have access to a high-speed
internet connection can watch a streaming video broadcast
of the service wherever they may be.
Conclusion
[38] The move toward the personalization
of gravestones creates some interesting philosophical/theological
questions. For instance, how does a visual medium such
as the Vidstone Serenity Panel affect the memorial visitor’s
sense of the loved one? Is there a sense of displacement?
In addition, how does such a device such as an LCD display
on a memorial reinforce the sense of the departed person
as embodied? Does this, in any way, interfere with our
thinking of the deceased as an immaterial soul? Is the
move toward greater personalization of gravestones related
to some kind of social anxiety about death, or about
time passing too quickly in our hyper-teched-out worlds
of instant gratification?
Have natural disasters such as
the Indonesian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, along
with threatened pandemics, heightened social anxieties,
or at least awareness of death (Casey 2006)? If
the practice of personalizing memorials become widespread
will it subtly change how we think about life after
death? Since the departed will, in fact, become frozen
in time relative to the time the video was made, they
will always be envisioned in the bodies they had while
alive (Greig 2006).
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references because they refer to websites; urls are available
in the References section.
