Mirthful Architecture
Date
Authors
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
In their March 1999 issue, LA Weekly listed this advertisement with a link to a website called “Final Curtain1”. The website, adorned in serif fonts and floral edging, proposes a series of memorial parks that “throw away all the rules” for creative individuals who wish to invent their own specific “works of passage” and memorials for the afterlife. At the bottom of the page, visitors are welcomed to submit their own proposals for a chance to win a limited scholarship for artists, which would consist of a free plot on their grounds, and a chance to be featured on their online gallery. Of the submittals, few, if anym resemble your normal gravestone and the great majority more closely resemble theme park amusements. Mary Dresser plans on having her ashes mixed with a suitable soil and placed into a larger-than-life Ant Farm. Nick Gaetano would like a neon sign that reads, “Nick is Dead” to serve as his tombstone. Kim Markegard’s plot will consist of a 10x10 dancefloor and a jukebox. Alex Repasky plans on putting his ashes in an etch-a-sketch.