2. QR Codes
Technology
1. The constructing of the memorials
Longevity
1. Materials
2. Language
Personalisation
1. Linking to the persons life
2. Keeping the memory of the “alive”
Trends
3. Technology
Stonemasonry-“art of quarrying, sawing,
shaping, sculpting and fixing natural stone in
order to build long-lasting buildings and
monuments.”
QR codes are just continuing what has happened centuries before and I’ve broken this down into 4 main points.Firstly Technology- as in when new technology has appeared it’s used as soon as possible.Secondly- Longevity, many cite the fact that since QR codes are a relatively new technology it shouldn’t be used however in the past it seems this wasn’t a problem therefore should it be now? This is reflected in the materials and the languages which are used when constructing gravestones.Thirdly Personalisation. Gravestones have always tried to link to a persons life so with so much of our lives becoming online it seems like the next logical step is to show that on our gravestones. Moreover people personalise gravestones using statues or pictures to keep the memories “alive” and QR codes are the next step in this by having whole albums or videos showing captured memories.And Finally Trends- certain types of symbol can become very popular like the memento mori and this may also be why QR codes are being included on gravestones.
Stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization and it is the “art of quarrying, sawing, shaping, sculpting and fixing natural stone in order to build long-lasting buildings and monuments” Therefore although their main job was for buildings this impacted on the types of stone used. They used to use animals to move the stone but in the 20th century with the industrial revolution meaning more sophisticated cranes and forklifts then in the modern age this enables mason’s to work to a degree of precision using machines laser etchings like which would never have been thought possible. Therefore adding technology to the process has helped it and they didn’t shy away from new technology therefore why should the same be said for QR codes.
A main argument against QR codes seems to be their longevity since technology is updating itself so often however many of the materials used aren’t durable at all however are still used. Wood has been used for centuries for carving, as we saw in St Mary’s Priory of John de Hastings, even though it can be damaged by insects and by the environment more easily than stone and very few survive after 50-100 years from natural decomposition.Even stones which are said to be durable can still decay from environmental factors like acid rain, localised pollution, rain fall rates and the freeze thaw cycle. Marble and Limestone are the most effected by acid rain as we saw in Cathay’s (the soldiers gravestones which are replaced every 5 years) but eventually all things constructed from stone.Moreover it is very difficult to preserve stone than a website or even technology. The Ferranti Pegasus computer in the London Science Museum is still able to work after 53 years and surely if QR codes were on people’s graves it wouldn’t be that hard to keep the technology alive.
The language which is used on a gravestone is very important and it tells us a lot about the person. However languages don’t last forever and can die out. Languages like ogham (which only has 400 known inscriptions altogether) and Latin aren’t spoken any more and there is only a small part of the population which would be able to understand it. Similar to Latin and Ogham although not dead languages not that many people speak Welsh, Irish, Scottish or Manx Gaelic. This isn’t to say that the languages should be used though as even if it is not understood the fact that the language is used is still telling you something about the person.
Gravestones have always been about projecting what the person was like when they were alive. Again we saw this in abergavenny with many of the men’s sculptures being in full amour showing their military background. Moreover, other figures like John Blagrave the mathematician is surrounded by the five regular solids- cube, Isocahedron, Octahedron, tetrahedron and dodecahedron which are shown as female figures. Also John Renie’s gravestone although it doesn’t show his job it does tell us something about it. The stone contains a 285 word acrostic puzzle which says “ here lies John Renie” and it has been claimed that it can be read 46,000 ways”. Lionel Fanthorpe believes this was his way of confusing the devil therefore showing him to be quite religious and also quite paranoid.For people who were singers/actors/directors something like a QR code would be perfect to show the talents they held. Moreover with so much of our lives being online anyway it would make for that to be shown on the memorials of our lives.
In an NPR article Rick Miller said he hopes the technology will keep love ones’ stories alive for future generations. Which reminded me of the way that if there was a statue they try and make it look as if it is about to move, for example, in abergavenny we saw the effigies with crossed legs which rather than meaning they were in the crusades seemed to show them jumping into action.Here is another of Gilbert Marshall, a soldier who was accidentally killed in a tournament at Ware who looks as though he should actually be vertical to look as though he is about to jump out and draw his sword since his hand is also on his sword.Moreover putting pictures of the person on a grave is a way of remembering the person as they were.QR codes could take this one step further by showing the person’s personality and their movements parts of the person that can’t be shown in a picture or a statue.
Gravestones and memorials do not escape from trends, whether it be having certain religious iconography like a simple cross or putting certain saints to help you on your way to heaven (like on Sir Richard Herbert of Coldbrook and his wife Margaret’s tomb with the pictures of st. Catherine, st. Margaret and Mary). These symbols can sometimes be quite confusing to us now like the memento mori trend which began in the Medieval period when Christianity appeared with things like cadaver tombs.however Victorians seemed to take it to another level and brought it more into their everyday lives (by keeping hair in a locket or taking post-mortem photography) and they took it to a more macabre fashion. Historians are still trying to decipher these symbols and this again is a worry for some that in the future no one will know what a QR codes however with the amount of written sources on QR codes I don’t believe this will happen. And even if all they can gather is that QR codes mean technology this again isn’t a bad thing.
