A Dying Art: The Last of the Morticians
I watched Anthony Saldivar and other elite undertakers compete to restore silicone heads at the Restorative Art Technical Showcase. Their skills, honed by horror movie techniques and military service, are increasingly obsolete as cremation rates surge and traditional funerals become too costly. This cultural shift threatens the future of mortuary beautification, leaving these 'sheepdogs for the dead' fighting a losing battle against time and changing consumer tastes.
I became a sheepdog for the dead, protecting their bodies.
- TomMasz
When my wife died, I chose to have her immediately cremated. She was raised Catholic but wasn't religious and a viewing/funeral wouldn't have been appropriate. Her ashes are in an urn on the mantelpiece of the house we lived in for 42 years. This is where she died and where our children were born. It's where she belongs.
It still cost $4K. Dying, at least in the US, isn't cheap.
- tengwar2
Interesting. This is one of the things that differs hugely between countries. I've taken about 550 funerals in the UK (I have what you might call a "portmanteau career"). I've only had one open-coffin funeral, and that was for a Caribbean family. It's not uncommon for the immediate family to visit the body before the funeral, but I haven't heard of restoration being used for that and I think embalming is quite unusual as well. In fact I was at the National Funeral Exhibition recently, and I didn't see anyone doing restorative services.
- haunter
The japanese film おくりびと covers the topic beautifully.