San Diego, California

Burial or Cremation? Postindustrial cemeteries are constantly looking for new ways to turn a profit. Voila! Private Estates. They may take the form of a family mausoleum, but the current trend is to fence- or hedge-off a small "cemetery within a cemetery" for a single family. They are usually designed to receive either remains or cremains. Greenwood Cemetery. [2013]

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Burial or Cremation?  That price is probably for the burial space alone, not for opening the grave or the funeral. Remember that the purchase of a burial space does not mean you own the land, you own a single-use permit to use the land for burial in perpetuity. Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens. [2014]

Brunswick, Georgia

Burial or Cremation?  Billboards can be used to advertise anything, including cremation. Rarely, though do you see them advertising cemeteries themselves. What factors determine whether a person is buried or cremated? And, if cremated, whether the ashes are buried or scattered? [2012]

Huntington, West Virginia

Burial or Cremation?  Some institutions are promoting cremation as a less costly alternative to burial. Here is a billboard that tries to persuade the pre-dead and the dead's survivors. Embedded in the message is an affirming vocabulary that shapes the narrative: society (as in high), tri-state (as in widely popular), affordable (as in not cheap), licensee (as in we can be trusted), new (as in get with the times). Then, there is the arboreal element: What do you make of the tree with deep roots? [2014]

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Burial or Cremation?  Compare the price of an immediate cremation and a traditional burial. How would you do that? By reading the advertisements on the sides of Albuquerque's buses. Today, however, cremation costs an average of $1100. And the price on the bus for a traditional burial does not include the funeral, which will run the bill up to an average of $11,000. Of course, it might be cheaper if you pre-plan. [2017]