Oak Hall, Virginia

Minimalist Memorials:  Name, year of birth, year of death:  That's the least you can put on a grave marker. Forget the middle initial, month, and day. For several decades after World War II, there was little attempt to turn cemetery memorials over to the narrative arts. The spirit of the times was captured in The Organization Man, "the book that defined a generation." It was originally published in 1956 and called attention to the suppression of individuality in favor of serving 'the organization.' Conformity was at a peak. The principles outlined by William H. Whyte are evident in the cookie-cutter suburbs and the overly-organized cemeteries of the era. Downing's Cemetery. [2013]

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